Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Author: Antonella León | Email: aleon@iib.unsam.edu.ar
Antonella León 1°, Rocío Gutiérrez Fuster 1°, Gabriela Aparicio 2°, Baylen Ravenscraft 3°, Paula Monje 2°, Camila Scorticati 1°
1° Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2° Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA.
3° Department of Neurological Surgery, Stark Neuroscience Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, USA.
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) has a unique capacity for functional recovery and self-repair after an injury. Both the intrinsic capacity of PNS neurons to re-initiate axon growth and the reprogramming features of PNS glial cells contribute to nerve regeneration. However, the complete molecular mechanism underlying PNS regeneration have not been elucidated yet. The membrane neuronal glycoprotein GPM6A is involved in neuronal development and structural plasticity in the CNS, and recent evidence suggests that GPM6a interacts with molecules from the PNS and could be expressed in DRG neurons. Here, we characterized the localization of the GPM6a protein using embryonic and adult DRG neuron cultures and immunohistochemistry of DRG explants. Our results show that GPM6a is localized in the surface of DRG neurons throughout development but not in Schwann cells. Furthermore, blocking GPM6a using a structural monoclonal anti-GPM6a antibody significantly decreased neurite outgrowth in dissociated DRG neuron cultures. Altogether, our results show for the first time that GPM6a is expressed in the PNS and participates in neurite extension. These new evidence suggests that GPM6a could contribute to axon regeneration in the PNS.