Organelle motility and metabolism in axons vs dendrites of cultured hippocampal neurons

1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 971-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.C. Overly ◽  
H.I. Rieff ◽  
P.J. Hollenbeck
Keyword(s):  
Regional Variation ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Microtubule Polarity ◽  
Large Phase ◽  
Organelle Motility ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Metabolic Properties ◽  
Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Regional regulation of organelle transport seems likely to play an important role in establishing and maintaining distinct axonal and dendritic domains in neurons, and in managing differences in local metabolic demands. In addition, known differences in microtubule polarity and organization between axons and dendrites along with the directional selectivity of microtubule-based motor proteins suggest that patterns of organelle transport may differ in these two process types. To test this hypothesis, we compared the patterns of movement of different organelle classes in axons and different dendritic regions of cultured embryonic rat hippocampal neurons. We first examined the net direction of organelle transport in axons, proximal dendrites and distal dendrites by video-enhanced phase-contrast microscopy. We found significant regional variation in the net transport of large phase-dense vesicular organelles: they exhibited net retrograde transport in axons and distal dendrites, whereas they moved equally in both directions in proximal dendrites. No significant regional variation was found in the net transport of mitochondria or macropinosomes. Analysis of individual organelle motility revealed three additional differences in organelle transport between the two process types. First, in addition to the difference in net transport direction, the large phase-dense organelles exhibited more persistent changes in direction in proximal dendrites where microtubule polarity is mixed than in axons where microtubule polarity is uniform. Second, while the net direction of mitochondrial transport was similar in both processes, twice as many mitochondria were motile in axons than in dendrites. Third, the mean excursion length of moving mitochondria was significantly longer in axons than in dendrites. To determine whether there were regional differences in metabolic activity that might account for these motility differences, we labeled mitochondria with the vital dye, JC-1, which reveals differences in mitochondrial transmembrane potential. Staining of neurons with this dye revealed a greater proportion of highly charged, more metabolically active, mitochondria in dendrites than in axons. Together, our data reveal differences in organelle motility and metabolic properties in axons and dendrites of cultured hippocampal neurons.

scholarly journals Changes in microtubule polarity orientation during the development of hippocampal neurons in culture.

1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 3085-3094 ◽  
Author(s):  
P W Baas ◽  
M M Black ◽  
G A Banker
Keyword(s):  
Cell Body ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Microtubule Polarity ◽  
Temporally Correlated ◽  
Uniform Polarity ◽  
Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Microtubules in the dendrites of cultured hippocampal neurons are of nonuniform polarity orientation. About half of the microtubules have their plus ends oriented distal to the cell body, and the other half have their minus ends distal; in contrast, microtubules in the axon are of uniform polarity orientation, all having their plus ends distal (Baas, P.W., J.S. Deitch, M. M. Black, and G. A. Banker. 1988. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 85:8335-8339). Here we describe the developmental changes that give rise to the distinct microtubule patterns of axons and dendrites. Cultured hippocampal neurons initially extend several short processes, any one of which can apparently become the axon (Dotti, C. G., and G. A. Banker. 1987. Nature [Lond.]. 330:477-479). A few days after the axon has begun its rapid growth, the remaining processes differentiate into dendrites (Dotti, C. G., C. A. Sullivan, and G. A. Banker. 1988. J. Neurosci. 8:1454-1468). The polarity orientation of the microtubules in all of the initial processes is uniform, with plus ends distal to the cell body, even through most of these processes will become dendrites. This uniform microtubule polarity orientation is maintained in the axon at all stages of its growth. The polarity orientation of the microtubules in the other processes remains uniform until they begin to grow and acquire the morphological characteristics of dendrites. It is during this period that microtubules with minus ends distal to the cell body first appear in these processes. The proportion of minus end-distal microtubules gradually increases until, by 7 d in culture, about equal numbers of dendritic microtubules are oriented in each direction. Thus, the establishment of regional differences in microtubule polarity orientation occurs after the initial polarization of the neuron and is temporally correlated with the differentiation of the dendrites.

scholarly journals Amyloid-β oligomers induce tau-independent disruption of BDNF axonal transport via calcineurin activation in cultured hippocampal neurons

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (16) ◽  
pp. 2494-2505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa M. Ramser ◽  
Kathlyn J. Gan ◽  
Helena Decker ◽  
Emily Y. Fan ◽  
Matthew M. Suzuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Axonal Transport ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Glycogen Synthase ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Protein Phosphatase 1 ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Pathological Event ◽  
Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Disruption of fast axonal transport (FAT) is an early pathological event in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Soluble amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs), increasingly recognized as proximal neurotoxins in AD, impair organelle transport in cultured neurons and transgenic mouse models. AβOs also stimulate hyperphosphorylation of the axonal microtubule-associated protein, tau. However, the role of tau in FAT disruption is controversial. Here we show that AβOs reduce vesicular transport of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hippocampal neurons from both wild-type and tau-knockout mice, indicating that tau is not required for transport disruption. FAT inhibition is not accompanied by microtubule destabilization or neuronal death. Significantly, inhibition of calcineurin (CaN), a calcium-dependent phosphatase implicated in AD pathogenesis, rescues BDNF transport. Moreover, inhibition of protein phosphatase 1 and glycogen synthase kinase 3β, downstream targets of CaN, prevents BDNF transport defects induced by AβOs. We further show that AβOs induce CaN activation through nonexcitotoxic calcium signaling. Results implicate CaN in FAT regulation and demonstrate that tau is not required for AβO-induced BDNF transport disruption.

scholarly journals Disease-associated mutations in human BICD2 hyperactivate motility of dynein–dynactin

2017 ◽  
Vol 216 (10) ◽  
pp. 3051-3060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Huynh ◽  
Ronald D. Vale
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Membrane Vesicle ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Neurite Growth ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Dominant Form

Bicaudal D2 (BICD2) joins dynein with dynactin into a ternary complex (termed DDB) capable of processive movement. Point mutations in the BICD2 gene have been identified in patients with a dominant form of spinal muscular atrophy, but how these mutations cause disease is unknown. To investigate this question, we have developed in vitro motility assays with purified DDB and BICD2’s membrane vesicle partner, the GTPase Rab6a. Rab6a–GTP, either in solution or bound to artificial liposomes, released BICD2 from an autoinhibited state and promoted robust dynein–dynactin transport. In these assays, BICD2 mutants showed an enhanced ability to form motile DDB complexes. Increased retrograde transport by BICD2 mutants also was observed in cells using an inducible organelle transport assay. When overexpressed in rat hippocampal neurons, the hyperactive BICD2 mutants decreased neurite growth. Our results reveal that dominant mutations in BICD2 hyperactivate DDB motility and suggest that an imbalance of minus versus plus end–directed microtubule motility in neurons may underlie spinal muscular atrophy.

scholarly journals A PIK3C3–Ankyrin-B–Dynactin pathway promotes axonal growth and multiorganelle transport

2014 ◽  
Vol 207 (6) ◽  
pp. 735-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damaris Nadia Lorenzo ◽  
Alexandra Badea ◽  
Jonathan Davis ◽  
Janell Hostettler ◽  
Jiang He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Axonal Transport ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Axon Growth ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Functional Relationships ◽  
Range Transport ◽  
Ankyrin B

Axon growth requires long-range transport of organelles, but how these cargoes recruit their motors and how their traffic is regulated are not fully resolved. In this paper, we identify a new pathway based on the class III PI3-kinase (PIK3C3), ankyrin-B (AnkB), and dynactin, which promotes fast axonal transport of synaptic vesicles, mitochondria, endosomes, and lysosomes. We show that dynactin associates with cargo through AnkB interactions with both the dynactin subunit p62 and phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P) lipids generated by PIK3C3. AnkB knockout resulted in shortened axon tracts and marked reduction in membrane association of dynactin and dynein, whereas it did not affect the organization of spectrin–actin axonal rings imaged by 3D-STORM. Loss of AnkB or of its linkages to either p62 or PtdIns(3)P or loss of PIK3C3 all impaired organelle transport and particularly retrograde transport in hippocampal neurons. Our results establish new functional relationships between PIK3C3, dynactin, and AnkB that together promote axonal transport of organelles and are required for normal axon length.

scholarly journals Disease-Associated Mutations in Human BICD2 Hyperactivate Motility of Dynein-Dynactin

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Huynh ◽  
Ronald D. Vale
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Muscular Atrophy ◽  
Membrane Vesicle ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Neurite Growth ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Dominant Form

AbstractBicaudal D2 (BICD2) joins dynein with dynactin into a ternary complex (termed DDB) capable of processive movement. Point mutations in the BICD2 gene have been identified in patients with a dominant form of spinal muscular atrophy, but how these mutations cause disease is unknown. To investigate this question, we have developed in vitro motility assays with purified DDB and BICD2’s membrane vesicle partner, the GTPase Rab6a. Rab6a-GTP, either in solution or bound to artificial liposomes, released BICD2 from an autoinhibited state and promoted robust dynein-dynactin transport. In these assays, BICD2 mutants showed an enhanced ability to form motile DDB complexes. Increased retrograde transport by BICD2 mutants also was observed in cells using an inducible organelle transport assay. When overexpressed in rat hippocampal neurons, the hyperactive BICD2 mutants decreased neurite growth. Our results reveal that dominant mutations in BICD2 hyperactivate DDB motility and suggest that an imbalance of minus- versus plus-end-directed microtubule motility in neurons may underlie spinal muscular atrophy.

scholarly journals Products of endocytosis and autophagy are retrieved from axons by regulated retrograde organelle transport.

1993 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Hollenbeck
Keyword(s):  
Cell Body ◽  
Lucifer Yellow ◽  
Sympathetic Neurons ◽  
Retrograde Transport ◽  
Distal Region ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Anterograde Axonal Transport ◽  
Large Phase ◽  
Cultured Sympathetic Neurons ◽  
Texas Red

Cellular homeostasis in neurons requires that the synthesis and anterograde axonal transport of protein and membrane be balanced by their degradation and retrograde transport. To address the nature and regulation of retrograde transport in cultured sympathetic neurons, I analyzed the behavior, composition, and ultrastructure of a class of large, phase-dense organelles whose movement has been shown to be influenced by axonal growth (Hollenbeck, P. J., and D. Bray. 1987. J. Cell Biol. 105:2827-2835). In actively elongating axons these organelles underwent both anterograde and retrograde movements, giving rise to inefficient net retrograde transport. This could be shifted to more efficient, higher volume retrograde transport by halting axonal outgrowth, or conversely shifted to less efficient retrograde transport with a larger anterograde component by increasing the intracellular cyclic AMP concentration. When neurons were loaded with Texas red-dextran by trituration, autophagy cleared the label from an even distribution throughout the neuronal cytosol to a punctate, presumably lysosomal, distribution in the cell body within 72 h. During this process, 100% of the phase-dense organelles were fluorescent, showing that they contained material sequestered from the cytosol and indicating that they conveyed this material to the cell body. When 29 examples of this class of organelle were identified by light microscopy and then relocated using correlative electron microscopy, they had a relatively constant ultrastructure consisting of a bilamellar or multilamellar boundary membrane and cytoplasmic contents, characteristic of autophagic vacuoles. When neurons took up Lucifer yellow, FITC-dextran, or Texas red-ovalbumin from the medium via endocytosis at the growth cone, 100% of the phase-dense organelles became fluorescent, demonstrating that they also contain products of endocytosis. Furthermore, pulse-chase experiments with fluorescent endocytic tracers confirmed that these organelles are formed in the most distal region of the axon and undergo net retrograde transport. Quantitative ratiometric imaging with endocytosed 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid showed that the mean pH of their lumena was 7.05. These results indicate that the endocytic and autophagic pathways merge in the distal axon, resulting in a class of predegradative organelles that undergo regulated transport back to the cell body.

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