| First Author | Wong PC | Year | 1995 |
| Journal | J Cell Biol | Volume | 130 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 1413-22 |
| PubMed ID | 7559762 | Mgi Jnum | J:133603 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3778886 | Doi | 10.1083/jcb.130.6.1413 |
| Citation | Wong PC, et al. (1995) Increasing neurofilament subunit NF-M expression reduces axonal NF-H, inhibits radial growth, and results in neurofilamentous accumulation in motor neurons. J Cell Biol 130(6):1413-22 |
| abstractText | The carboxy-terminal tail domains of neurofilament subunits neurofilament NF-M and NF-H have been postulated to be responsible for the modulation of axonal caliber. To test how subunit composition affects caliber, transgenic mice were generated to increase axonal NF-M. Total neurofilament subunit content in motor and sensory axons remained essentially unchanged, but increases in NF-M were offset by proportionate decreases in both NF-H and axonal cross-sectional area. Increase in NF-M did not affect the level of phosphorylation of NF-H. This indicates that (a) in vivo NF-H and NF-M compete either for coassembly with a limiting amount of NF-L or as substrates for axonal transport, and (b) NF-H abundance is a primary determinant of axonal caliber. Despite inhibition of radial growth, increase in NF-M and reduction in axonal NF-H did not affect nearest neighbor spacing between neurofilaments, indicating that cross-bridging between nearest neighbors does not play a crucial role in radial growth. Increase in NF-M did not result in an overt phenotype or neuronal loss, although filamentous swellings in perikarya and proximal axons of motor neurons were frequently found. |
