Axonal filopodial asymmetry induced by synaptic target

Abstract

Early nerve–muscle interaction that leads to neuromuscular junction formation is mediated by axonal filopodia that are oriented preferentially toward the muscle as a result of target-derived basic fibroblast growth factor.

The function of p120 catenin in filopodial growth and synaptic vesicle clustering in neurons

“…Here spinal neurons expressing GFP, WTp120ctn, or Δp120 were exposed to control or bFGF-added medium for 6 h and then examined live. Treatment with bFGF enhanced the formation of filopodia in GFP-neurons (Figure 6, A and B, vs. A′ and B′), as seen previously using neurons expressing no exogenous proteins (Li et al. , 2011), and bFGF also increased the number of SV puncta in these neurons (Figure 6, C and C′).…”

Reciprocal Regulation of Axonal Filopodia and Outgrowth during Neuromuscular Junction Development

“…WT-FGFR1- and TR-FGFR1-neurons had more and less filopodia than GFP-neurons, respectively, and both displayed a marked decrease in the extension of filopodia preferentially towards muscle cells, much as in our previous work [14]. Overexpression of bFGF in muscle slightly increased the growth of filopodia towards muscle in WT-FGFR1- but not in TR-FGFR1-neurons (Figure 6G), which again indicated that normal FGFR1 signaling in neurons is needed for bFGF to elicit filopodial growth.…”

“…First, to examine if there is autocrine activation of TrkB – as a result of the secretion of BDNF from spinal neurons themselves – TrkB-Fc was used as a scavenger to remove BDNF from the medium. Previously we found that cessation of axonal growth upon target recognition is accompanied by increased generation of axonal filopodia [14]. Thus, we examined the effect of TrkB-Fc on the number of axonal filopodia in this study.…”

Simultaneous Pre- and Post-synaptic Electrophysiological Recording from <em>Xenopus</em> Nerve-muscle Co-cultures

“…The preparation has been used widely to study the biophysical properties of presynaptic ion channels and the regulation of transmitter release [5][6][7][8] . In addition, the preparation has lent itself to other uses including the study of neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis [9][10][11][12] …”

“…The preparation has been used widely to study the biophysical properties of presynaptic ion channels and the regulation of transmitter release [5][6][7][8] . In addition, the preparation has lent itself to other uses including the study of neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis [9][10][11][12] , molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter release [13][14][15] , the role of diffusible messengers in neuromodulation 16,17 , and in vitro synaptic plasticity [18][19] .…”