Local Synthesis of Actin-Binding Protein β-Thymosin Regulates Neurite Outgrowth
Open Access
- 4 January 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Society for Neuroscience in Journal of Neuroscience
- Vol. 26 (1), 152-157
- https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.4164-05.2006
Abstract
Local protein synthesis plays an essential role in the regulation of various aspects of axonal and dendritic function in adult neurons. At present, however, there is no direct evidence that local protein translation is functionally contributing to neuronal outgrowth. Here, we identified the mRNA encoding the actin-binding protein β-thymosin as one of the most abundant transcripts in neurites of outgrowing neurons in culture. β-Thymosin mRNA is not evenly distributed in neurites, but appears to accumulate at distinct sites such as turning points and growth cones. Using double-stranded RNA knockdown, we show that reducing β-thymosin mRNA levels results in a significant increase in neurite outgrowth, both in neurites of intact cells and in isolated neurites. Together, our data demonstrate that local synthesis of β-thymosin is functionally involved in regulating neuronal outgrowth.This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
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