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Acetylcholine influences growth cone motility and morphology of developing thalamic axons
- Source :
- Cell adhesionmigration. 2(1)
- Publication Year :
- 2009
-
Abstract
- The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) is expressed in the developing telencephalon at the time when thalamic axons project to the cortex, long before synapses are being formed. Since previous studies demonstrated an influence of ACh on neurite extension we used different in vitro assays to examine possible effects of ACh on the growth of thalamic axons. In explant cultures, application of ACh reduced the length of thalamic axons in a dose dependent manner, an effect that could also be evoked by selective muscarinic and nicotinic agonists. Time-lapse imaging of thalamic axons exposed to microscopic gradients of ACh revealed that growth cones no longer advanced, but maintained high filopodial activity. This growth cone pausing was not accompanied by axon retraction or growth cone collapse. It could at least partially be blocked by muscarinic and nicotinic antagonists, indicating that both types of ACh receptors contribute to mediate these effects on thalamic axons. Finally, we also found that ACh changed the morphology of growth cones; they became larger and extended more filopodia. Since such changes in the structure and motility of growth cones are observed at decision regions along the path of many fiber populations including thalamic axons, we suggest that ACh plays a role during the elaboration of thalamocortical projections.
- Subjects :
- Time Factors
Thalamus
Growth Cones
Biology
Receptors, Nicotinic
Tissue Culture Techniques
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Mice
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor
medicine
Animals
Axon
Growth cone
Acetylcholine receptor
Cell Biology
Anatomy
Receptors, Muscarinic
Acetylcholine
Axons
medicine.anatomical_structure
Nicotinic agonist
nervous system
Neuroscience
Filopodia
medicine.drug
Research Paper
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19336926
- Volume :
- 2
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Cell adhesionmigration
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d786697fa9433e4ac8a1ffc5b465b82c