1. Mouse Neuron navigator 1, a novel microtubule-associated protein involved in neuronal migration
- Author
-
Cristina Mascaró, Tamara Maes, Soledad Alcántara, María José Martínez-López, Carlos Buesa, Francesc Pérez-Brangulí, Eduardo Soriano, and Pilar Ruiz-Lozano
- Subjects
Nervous system ,Neurite ,Microtubule-associated protein ,Nerve Tissue Proteins ,Biology ,Fetal Development ,Mice ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,Cell Movement ,Microtubule ,Chlorocebus aethiops ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Nerve Growth Factors ,Growth cone ,Molecular Biology ,Cells, Cultured ,Caenorhabditis elegans ,Neurons ,Cell Biology ,Transfection ,biology.organism_classification ,Cell biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,COS Cells ,Neuron ,Microtubule-Associated Proteins ,Neuroscience - Abstract
The development of the nervous system (NS) requires the coordinated migration of multiple waves of neurons and subsequent processes of neurite maturation, both involving selective guidance mechanisms. In Caenorhabditis elegans, unc-53 codes for a new multidomain protein involved in the directional migration of a subset of cells. We describe here the first functional characterization of the mouse homologue, mouse Neuron navigator 1 (mNAV1), whose expression is largely restricted to the NS during development. EGFP-mNAV1 associates with microtubules (MTs) plus ends present in the growth cone through a new microtubule-binding (MTB) domain. Moreover, its overexpression in transfected cells leads to MT bundling. The abolition of mNAV1 causes loss of directionality in the leading processes of pontine-migrating cells, providing evidence for a role of mNAV1 in mediating Netrin-1-induced directional migration.
- Published
- 2005
- Full Text
- View/download PDF