A typical matured nerve cell (or neuron) has one axon and multiple dendrites. It receives information at the dendrites and sending signals to other neurons via the axon. Although scientists have discovered that this Axon-dendrite polarity is a cardinal feature of neuronal morphology essential for information flow, they are still in the dark about the cause of this polarization.
A recent study by Prof. LUO Zhenge and colleagues from the Institute of Neuroscience under the CAS Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences shed new light on the issue, and their work was reported at the May 30 issue of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The paper, which was first-authored by Dr. CHEN Yanmin, reported a role for microtubule affinity-regulating kinase (MARK) PAR-1 in determining neuronal polarity. It suggested that MARK2 inhibition by aPKC play an active role in regulating neuronal polarity and, in particular, in regulating axon development. The researchers proposed that aPKC, when complexed with PAR-3 and PAR-6, negatively regulates MARK(s), which in turn leads to dephosphorylation of MAPs such as tau, and finally promotes the assembly of stable MTs and axon elongation.
Experts say that this work not only reveals a mechanism governing the establishment of the neuro cell's polarity, but also provides a new approach and target for repairing a neurological damage or treating neuro-regressive diseases.
