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Actin Aggregations Mark the Sites of Neurite Initiation

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Abstract

A salient feature of neurons is their intrinsic ability to grow and extend neurites, even in the absence of external cues. Compared to the later stages of neuronal development, such as neuronal polarization and dendrite morphogenesis, the early steps of neuritogenesis remain relatively unexplored. Here we showed that redistribution of cortical actin into large aggregates preceded neuritogenesis and determined the site of neurite initiation. Enhancing actin polymerization by jasplakinolide treatment effectively blocked actin redistribution and neurite initiation, while treatment with the actin depolymerizing agents latrunculin A or cytochalasin D accelerated neurite formation. Together, these results demonstrate a critical role of actin dynamics and reorganization in neurite initiation. Further experiments showed that microtubule dynamics and protein synthesis are not required for neurite initiation, but are required for later neurite stabilization. The redistribution of actin during early neuronal development was also observed in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in vivo.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Yuan Lu, Zong-Fang Wan, and Shun-Ji He for excellent technical assistance. We thank the ION Optical Imaging Core Facility for technical support, and the IOBS-Nikon Biological Imaging Center for use of the N-SIM microscope. We are grateful to colleagues at ION and members of the Yu laboratory for suggestions and comments. This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31125015 and 31321091).

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    1. Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China

      Shu-Xin Zhang, Li-Hui Duan & Xiang Yu

    2. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

      Shu-Xin Zhang & Li-Hui Duan

    3. Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

      Hong Qian

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    Correspondence to Xiang Yu.

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    Shu-Xin Zhang and Li-Hui Duan have contributed equally to this work.

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    Zhang, SX., Duan, LH., Qian, H. et al. Actin Aggregations Mark the Sites of Neurite Initiation. Neurosci. Bull. 32, 1–15 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12264-016-0012-2

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