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Neurofilaments form flexible bundles during neuritogenesis in culture and in mature axons in situ
Author(s) -
Lee Sangmook,
Eyer Joel,
Letournel Franck,
Boumil Edward,
Hall Garth,
Shea Thomas B.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.24482
Subject(s) - neurofilament , neurite , soma , cytoskeleton , flexibility (engineering) , pathfinding , anatomy , axon , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , cell , computer science , biochemistry , immunohistochemistry , immunology , graph , statistics , mathematics , theoretical computer science , shortest path problem , in vitro
Neurofilaments (NFs) undergo cation‐dependent phospho‐mediated associations with each other and other cytoskeletal elements that support axonal outgrowth. Progressive NF‐NF associations generate a resident, bundled population that undergoes exchange with transporting NFs. We examined the properties of bundled NFs. Bundles did not always display a fully linear profile but curved and twisted at various points along the neurite length. Bundles retracted faster than neurites and retracted bundles did not expand following extraction with Triton, indicating that they coiled passively rather than due to pressure from the cell. Bundles consisted of helically wound NFs, which may provide flexibility necessary for turning of growing axons during pathfinding. Interactions between NFs and other cytoskeletal elements may be disrupted en masse during neurite retraction or regionally during remodeling. It is suggested that bundles within long axons that cannot be fully retracted into the soma could provide maintain proximal support yet still allow more distal flexibility for remodeling and changing direction during pathfinding.