| Abstract No.: | B-A2009 |
| Country: | Canada |
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| Title: | NEURITE CONSOLIDATION IS ACTIVELY MAINTAINED BY CALPAIN THROUGH LOCAL REPRESSION OF ACTIN POLYMERIZATION AND NEURITE SPROUTING |
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| Authors/Affiliations: | 1 Ana Mingorance-Le Meur*; 1 Timothy O'Connor;
1 The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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| Content: | The morphological division of neurites into a growth cone and neurite shaft is critical for their appropriate growth and formation of neural networks. However, the signals that keep these domains separated are poorly understood. We report that calpain activity in neurons is regulated by cAMP and is localized to the neurite shaft, where it inhibits actin polymerization at least in part though proteolysis of cortactin. Calpain inhibition or cortactin overexpression triggers an increase in neurite sprouting, while preventing calpain inhibition maintains neurite consolidation and abrogats branching in response to branching factors. Regulation of actin polymerization by calpain may regulate the domain-specific location of protrusive activity and thereby control the subdivision of neurites into growth cone and shaft domains. |
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