Abstract
Neuronal polarity is, at least in part, mediated by the differential sorting of membrane proteins to distinct domains, such as axons and somata/dendrites. We investigated the pathways underlying the subcellular targeting of NgCAM, a cell adhesion molecule residing on the axonal plasma membrane. Following transport of NgCAM kinetically, surprisingly we observed a transient appearance of NgCAM on the somatodendritic plasma membrane. Down-regulation of endocytosis resulted in loss of axonal accumulation of NgCAM, indicating that the axonal localization of NgCAM was dependent on endocytosis. Our data suggest the existence of a dendrite-to-axon transcytotic pathway to achieve axonal accumulation. NgCAM mutants with a point mutation in a crucial cytoplasmic tail motif (YRSL) are unable to access the transcytotic route. Instead, they were found to travel to the axon on a direct route. Therefore, our results suggest that multiple distinct pathways operate in hippocampal neurons to achieve axonal accumulation of membrane proteins.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1317-1328 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Cell Biology |
Volume | 162 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 29 2003 |
Keywords
- Axonal targeting
- L1
- Neuronal polarity
- NgCAM
- Transcytosis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cell Biology