WIKIMEDIA, ZUZANNA K. FILUTOWSKAFidgetin is one of a number of enzymes that can pull apart microtubules. Other so-called microtubule-severing enzymes are known to aid in the growth of neurons. In a new study, presented today (December 17) in a poster at the American Society for Cell Biology meeting in New Orleans, researchers show that fidgetin may play a different role, putting a lid on axon growth.
They found that knocking down fidgetin in adult rat neurons caused a surge in axon lengthening. The finding “speaks to the importance of microtubule organization” during neuron growth, said Melissa Rolls, a regeneration researcher at Penn State University who was not involved in the study. “The bottom line is microtubules have to be incredibly carefully regulated during injury responses.”
Although peripheral neurons can repair themselves after being damaged, those in the central nervous system are pretty much helpless after an injury. That's why spinal cord injuries are so lasting and devastating. In the search for pathways that help neurons to grow, researchers had previously identified enzymes involved in reshaping microtubules in the cells' axons. Rolls has shown that one microtubule-severing enzyme called spastin, for instance, ...
