ERM proteins regulate growth cone responses to Sema3A

C. David Mintz, Ioana Carcea, Daniel G. McNickle, Tracey C. Dickson, Yongchao Ge, Stephen R.J. Salton, Deanna L. Benson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Axonal growth cones initiate and sustain directed growth in response to cues in their environment. A variety of events such as receptor internalization, kinase activation, and actin rearrangement can be stimulated by guidance cues and are essential for mediating targeted growth cone behavior. Surprisingly little is known about how such disparate actions are coordinated. Our data suggest that ezrin, radixin, and moesin (ERMs), a family of highly homologous, multifunctional proteins may be able to coordinate growth cone responses to the guidance cue Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A). We show that active ERMs concentrate asymmetrically in neocortical growth cones, are rapidly and transiently inactivated by Sema3A, and are required for Sema3A-mediated growth cone collapse and guidance. The FERM domain of active ERMs regulates internalization of the Sema3A receptor, Npn1, and its coreceptor, L1CAM, while the ERM C-terminal domain binds and caps F-actin. Our data support a model in which ERMs can coordinate membrane and actin dynamics in response to Sema3A.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)351-366
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Comparative Neurology
Volume510
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 23 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Actin
  • Axon guidance
  • Ezrin
  • L1CAM
  • LPA
  • Neuropilin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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