Developmentally regulated impediments to skin reinnervation by injured peripheral sensory axon terminals.

ABSTRACT: The structural plasticity of neurites in the central nervous system (CNS) diminishes dramatically after initial development, but the peripheral nervous system (PNS) retains substantial plasticity into adulthood. Nevertheless, functional reinnervation by injured peripheral sensory neurons is often incomplete [1-6]. To investigate the developmental control of skin reinnervation, we imaged the regeneration of trigeminal sensory axon terminals in live zebrafish larvae following laser axotomy. When axons were injured during early stages of outgrowth, regenerating and uninjured axons grew into denervated skin and competed with one another for territory. At later stages, after the establishment of peripheral arbor territories, the ability of uninjured neighbors to sprout diminished severely, and

SUBMITTER: O'Brien GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2805760 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature