Visualising the cytoskeletal machinery in neuronal growth cones using cryo-electron tomography.

ABSTRACT: Neurons extend axons to form the complex circuitry of the mature brain. This depends on the coordinated response and continuous remodelling of the microtubule and F-actin networks in the axonal growth cone. Growth cone architecture remains poorly understood at nanoscales. We therefore investigated mouse hippocampal neuron growth cones using cryo-electron tomography to directly visualise their three-dimensional subcellular architecture with molecular detail. Our data showed that the hexagonal arrays of actin bundles that form filopodia penetrate and terminate deep within the growth cone interior. We directly observed the modulation of these and other growth cone actin bundles by alteration of individual F-actin helical structures. Microtubules with blunt, slightly flared or gently curved en

SUBMITTER: Atherton J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9016625 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature