Axon growth and guidance Flashcards
What does the growth cone do?
- Explores extracellular environment by pushing forward and retracting
- Guides axon extension of neuron beind hit as well
- Determines direction of growth
Label this image. What is it?
Re-do this question please
A
C
B
Growth cone
What is the growth cone made of?
F-actin and microtublues
What does the filopedia of the growth cone do?
Rapidly extends and withdraws
What are the 3 main domains of the growth cone? (3 marks)
- Peripheral domain
- Transition zone/ domain
- Central domain
What does the peripheral domain of the growth cone contain?
- Filopedia which is a linear bundle of F-actin
- Lamellipodia - located inbetween filopedia andis a mesh like network of F-actin
- Dynamic pioneer microtubules
What does the transition zone contain?
F-actin archs which are 90º to F-actin bundles
What does the central domain contain?
Dynamic microtubules that form bundles
What structure is located behind the central domain?
Axon shaft
What are the F-actin in filopedia and microtubules in the central domain associated with? What does this molecule do?
Motor proteins - these transport the vesicles and macromolecules up and down F-actin and microtubules
Which strucutre doe anterograde and retrograde mvoement go towards to in the growth cone skeleton?
Anterograde: towards filopodia tips
Retrograde: towards neuron soma
Label the image below of the growth cone cytoskeleton. Include:
- Axon shaft
- Filopodium
- F-acrin arc
- F-actin bundle
- Stable microtubules
- F-actin network
- Dynamic pioneer microtublues
- Lamellipodia like veil
And the 3 different domains
What structure are the f-actin filaments in filopodia aligned to form?
Double helix
Where is ATP G-actin and ADP G-actin added and removed in the f-actin filament?
At the positive end of the f-actin molecule, ATP G-actin is added and at the negative end ADP G-actin is removed
How is a steady retrograde flow induced in f-actin and what does this result in the cleavage of?
Myosin will bind to f-actin causing retrograde flow. This will cause continuous cleavage of ADP G-actin at the negative end of the f-actin filament, which will get recylced to ATP G-actin
What happens in the f-actin filament in the absence of adhesive contacts? What is the name of this process?
No net growth and elongation of f-actin filaments
Actin treadmilling
What interactions will slow retrograde f-actin flow and promote filopedia extension?
Cell/cell interactions by cell adhesion molecules (CAM).
e.g. Ca2+ independent CAMS (NCAM & L1)
Ca2+ dependent CAMS (cadherins)
How does an indirect interaction of integrin and f-actin occur?
ECM have to be bound to filopodia expressed integrin
What does the ‘molecular clutch’ do in the filopodia?
Either slows or prevents local retrograde flow of F-actin
and reduces the release of ADP G-actin at the minus end
What are microtubules made of? (3 marks)
Alpha and ß tubllin dimers in protfilaments. 13 protofilaments are arranged around a hollow core to form microtubules with a diameter of 24 nm
What is the difference in the positive and negative ends of the microtubules?
- Positive end is fast growing and has ß tubulin
- Negative end is slwo growing and has α tubulin
What is the process of dynamic instability and what happens? (5 marks)
- Promotes microtubule growth
- α/ ß tubulin GTP dimers added to the positive end in polymerisation (MT growth)
- α/ ß tubulin GDP dimers are removed from the positive end in depolymerisation (MT catastrophe)
- α/ ß tubulin GDP dimers are converted into GTP dimers for re-polymerisation (MT rescue)