Chapter 5 Cellular mechanisms regulating neurite initiation

Abstract

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on some of the cellular changes associated with morphogenesis and regeneration, focusing on the possible roles of calcium transients and immediate early genes in triggering neurite initiation. Neurite initiation is a complex process that cannot always be clearly separated from outgrowth. Although the morphological changes occurring during neurite initiation have been well described for many years, relatively little is known about the mechanisms that regulate neurite initiation. At the macromolecular level, growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43), microtubule-associated protein lB (MAPlB) and the GM1 class of gangliosides have all been implicated in the control of neurite initiation and outgrowth, and antibodies and/or antisense oligonucleotides to the last two macromolecules have been reported to inhibit neurite initiation in at least some cell types, arguing that MAPlB and GMl may play critical roles in neurite initiation. In spite of the large amount of information accumulated about control of growth cone behavior and neurite outgrowth, the initial event of neurite formation is only beginning to be understood.