TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wetzel, Andrea
A1  - Jablonka, Sibylle
A1  - Blum, Robert
T1  - Cell-autonomous axon growth of young motoneurons is triggered by a voltage-gated sodium channel
JF  - Channels (Austin)
N2  - Spontaneous electrical activity preceding synapse formation contributes to the precise regulation of neuronal development. Examining the origins of spontaneous activity revealed roles for neurotransmitters that depolarize neurons and activate ion channels. Recently, we identified a new molecular mechanism underlying fluctuations in spontaneous neuronal excitability. We found that embryonic motoneurons with a genetic loss of the low-threshold sodium channel Na\(_V\)1.9 show fewer fluctuations in intracellular calcium in axonal compartments and growth cones than wild-type littermates. As a consequence, axon growth of Na\(_V\)1.9-deficient motoneurons in cell culture is drastically reduced while dendritic growth and cell survival are not affected. Interestingly, Na\(_V\)1.9 function is observed under conditions that would hardly allow a ligand- or neurotransmitter-dependent depolarization. Thus, Na\(_V\)1.9 may serve as a cell-autonomous trigger for neuronal excitation. In this addendum, we discuss a model for the interplay between cell-autonomous local neuronal activity and local cytoskeleton dynamics in growth cone function.
KW  - spontaneous excitation
KW  - spinal muscular atrophy
KW  - axon growth
KW  - sodium channel
KW  - motoneurons
KW  - local protein synthesis
KW  - NaV1.9
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-132586
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Pfeiffer, Verena
A1  - Götz, Rudolf
A1  - Xiang, Chaomei
A1  - Camarero, Guadelupe
A1  - Braun, Attila
A1  - Zhang, Yina
A1  - Blum, Robert
A1  - Heinsen, Helmut
A1  - Nieswandt, Bernhard
A1  - Rapp, Ulf R.
T1  - Ablation of BRaf Impairs Neuronal Differentiation in the Postnatal Hippocampus and Cerebellum
JF  - PLoS ONE
N2  - This study focuses on the role of the kinase BRaf in postnatal brain development. Mice expressing truncated, non-functional BRaf in neural stem cell-derived brain tissue demonstrate alterations in the cerebellum, with decreased sizes and fuzzy borders of the glomeruli in the granule cell layer. In addition we observed reduced numbers and misplaced ectopic Purkinje cells that showed an altered structure of their dendritic arborizations in the hippocampus, while the overall cornus ammonis architecture appeared to be unchanged. In male mice lacking BRaf in the hippocampus the size of the granule cell layer was normal at postnatal day 12 (P12) but diminished at P21, as compared to control littermates. This defect was caused by a reduced ability of dentate gyrus progenitor cells to differentiate into NeuN positive granule cell neurons. In vitro cell culture of P0/P1 hippocampal cells revealed that BRaf deficient cells were impaired in their ability to form microtubule-associated protein 2 positive neurons. Together with the alterations in behaviour, such as autoaggression and loss of balance fitness, these observations indicate that in the absence of BRaf all neuronal cellular structures develop, but neuronal circuits in the cerebellum and hippocampus are partially disturbed besides impaired neuronal generation in both structures.
KW  - granule cells
KW  - hippocampus
KW  - neurons
KW  - neuronal dendrites
KW  - embryos
KW  - dentate gyrus
KW  - neuronal differentiation
KW  - cerebellum
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130304
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
ER  -