Premium
Hooks and comets: The story of microtubule polarity orientation in the neuron
Author(s) -
Baas Peter W.,
Lin Shen
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
developmental neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.716
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1932-846X
pISSN - 1932-8451
DOI - 10.1002/dneu.20818
Subject(s) - microtubule , polarity (international relations) , biology , neuroscience , neuron , astral microtubules , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , cell division , spindle apparatus , genetics
It is widely believed that signature patterns of microtubule polarity orientation within axons and dendrites underlie compositional and morphological differences that distinguish these neuronal processes from one another. Axons of vertebrate neurons display uniformly plus‐end‐distal microtubules, whereas their dendrites display non‐uniformly oriented microtubules. Recent studies on insect neurons suggest that it is the minus‐end‐distal microtubules that are the critical feature of the dendritic microtubule array, whether or not they are accompanied by plus‐end‐distal microtubules. Discussed in this article are the history of these findings, their implications for the regulation of neuronal polarity across the animal kingdom, and potential mechanisms by which neurons establish the distinct microtubule polarity patterns that define axons and dendrites. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 71: 403–418, 2011