Functional neuronal recovery following injury arises when severed axons reconnect with their targets. In Caenorhabditis elegans following laser-induced axotomy, the axon still attached to the cell body is able to regrow and reconnect with its separated distal fragment. Here we show that reconnection of separated axon fragments during regeneration of C. elegans mechanosensory neurons occurs thro...

Subcellular localization of mRNAs is regulated by RNA-protein interactions. Here, we show that introduction of a reporter mRNA with the 3'UTR of β-actin mRNA competes with endogenous mRNAs for binding to ZBP1 in adult sensory neurons. ZBP1 is needed for axonal localization of β-actin mRNA, and introducing GFP with the 3'UTR of β-actin mRNA depletes axons of endogenous β-actin and GAP-43 mRNAs a...

The MAG-deficient mouse was used to test whether MAG acts as a significant inhibitor of axonal regeneration in the adult mammalian CNS, as suggested by cell culture experiments. Cell spreading, neurite elongation, or growth cone collapse of different cell types in vitro was not significantly different when myelin preparations or optic nerve cryosections from either MAG-deficient or wild-type mi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Axonal remodeling is critical to brain repair after stroke. The present study investigated axonal outgrowth after stroke and the signaling pathways mediating axonal outgrowth in cortical neurons. METHODS Using a rodent model of middle cerebral artery occlusion, we examined high-molecular weight neurofilament (NFH) immunoreactive axons and myelin basic protein-positive o...

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the axonal regeneration environment following cerebral ischemia injury and to investigate whether it was associated with Nogo-A/Nogo receptor (NgR)/RhoA/Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) signaling. Using a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia, the effects of EA at the Quchi (LI11) and Zusanli (ST36) acu...

PURPOSE The axonal regeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) after optic nerve (ON) crush was investigated both in vivo and in vitro on Nogo-A/B/C knockout mice. METHODS The study used 20 Nogo-A/B/C knockout mice in the experimental group, and 20 C57BL/6 mice in the control group. Partial ON injury was induced by using a specially designed ON clip to pinch the ON 1 mm behind the mouse eye...

Axonal degeneration is a key pathological feature in many neurological diseases. It often leads to persistent deficits due to the inability of axons to regenerate in the central nervous system. Therefore therapeutic approaches should optimally both attenuate axonal degeneration and foster axonal regeneration. Compelling evidence suggests that collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP2) might ...