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Pioneer axons employ Cajal's battering ram to enter the spinal cord.

ABSTRACT: Sensory axons must traverse a spinal cord glia limitans to connect the brain with the periphery. The fundamental mechanism of how these axons enter the spinal cord is still debatable; both Ramon y Cajal's battering ram hypothesis and a boundary cap model have been proposed. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we visualized the entry of pioneer axons into the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) with time-lapse imaging in zebrafish. Here, we identify that DRG pioneer axons enter the DREZ before the arrival of neural crest cells at the DREZ. Instead, actin-rich invadopodia in the pioneer axon are necessary and sufficient for DREZ entry. Using photoactivable Rac1, we demonstrate cell-autonomous functioning of invasive structures in pioneer axon spinal entry. Together these data support the model that actin-rich invasion structures dynamically drive pioneer axon entry into the spinal cord, indicating that distinct pioneer and secondary events occur at the DREZ.

SUBMITTER: Nichols EL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6362287 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Pioneer axons employ Cajal's battering ram to enter the spinal cord.

Nichols Ev L EL Smith Cody J CJ

Nature communications 20190204 1

Sensory axons must traverse a spinal cord glia limitans to connect the brain with the periphery. The fundamental mechanism of how these axons enter the spinal cord is still debatable; both Ramon y Cajal's battering ram hypothesis and a boundary cap model have been proposed. To distinguish between these hypotheses, we visualized the entry of pioneer axons into the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) with time-lapse imaging in zebrafish. Here, we identify that DRG pioneer axons enter the DREZ before the ...[more]

PMID: 30718484

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Project description:IntroductionNeurons transport mRNA and translational machinery to axons for local translation. After spinal cord injury (SCI), de novo translation is assumed to enable neurorepair. Knowledge of the identity of axonal mRNAs that participate in neurorepair after SCI is limited. We sought to identify and understand how axonal RNAs play a role in axonal regeneration.MethodsWe obtained preparations enriched in axonal mRNAs from control and SCI rats by digesting spinal cord tissue with cold-active protease (CAP). The digested samples were then centrifuged to obtain a supernatant that was used to identify mRNA expression. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGS) after SCI and mapped them to various biological processes. We validated the DEGs by RT-qPCR and RNA-scope.ResultsThe supernatant fraction was highly enriched for mRNA from axons. Using Gene Ontology, the second most significant pathway for all DEGs was axonogenesis. Among the DEGs was Rims2, which is predominately a circular RNA (circRNA) in the CNS. We show that Rims2 RNA within spinal cord axons is circular. We found an additional 200 putative circRNAs in the axonal-enriched fraction. Knockdown in primary rat cortical neurons of the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1, which inhibits formation of circRNAs, significantly increased axonal outgrowth and increased the expression of circRims2. Using Rims2 as a prototype we used Circular RNA Interactome to predict miRNAs that bind to circRims2 also bind to the 3'UTR of GAP-43, PTEN or CREB1, all known regulators of axonal outgrowth. Axonally-translated GAP-43 supports axonal elongation and we detect GAP-43 mRNA in the rat axons by RNAscope.DiscussionBy enriching for axonal RNA, we detect SCI induced DEGs, including circRNA such as Rims2. Ablation of ADAR1, the enzyme that regulates circRNA formation, promotes axonal outgrowth of cortical neurons. We developed a pathway model using Circular RNA Interactome that indicates that Rims2 through miRNAs can regulate the axonal translation GAP-43 to regulate axonal regeneration. We conclude that axonal regulatory pathways will play a role in neurorepair.

Project description:Injury to the peripheral axons of sensory neurons strongly enhances the regeneration of their central axons in the spinal cord. It remains unclear on what molecules that initiate such conditioning effect. Because ATP is released extracellularly by nerve and other tissue injury, we hypothesize that injection of ATP into a peripheral nerve might mimic the stimulatory effect of nerve injury on the regenerative state of the primary sensory neurons. We found that a single injection of 6 ?l of 150 ?m ATP into female rat sciatic nerve quadrupled the number of axons growing into a lesion epicenter in spinal cord after a concomitant dorsal column transection. A second boost ATP injection 1 week after the first one markedly reinforced the stimulatory effect of a single injection. Single ATP injection increased expression of phospho-STAT3 and GAP43, two markers of regenerative activity, in sensory neurons. Double ATP injections sustained the activation of phospho-STAT3 and GAP43, which may account for the marked axonal growth across the lesion epicenter. Similar studies performed on P2X7 or P2Y2 receptor knock-out mice indicate P2Y2 receptors are involved in the activation of STAT3 after ATP injection or conditioning lesion, whereas P2X7 receptors are not. Injection of ATP at 150 ?m caused little Wallerian degeneration and behavioral tests showed no significant long-term adverse effects on sciatic nerve functions. The results in this study reveal possible mechanisms underlying the stimulation of regenerative programs and suggest a practical strategy for stimulating axonal regeneration following spinal cord injury.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Injury of peripheral axons of sensory neurons has been known to strongly enhance the regeneration of their central axons in the spinal cord. In this study, we found that injection of ATP into a peripheral nerve can mimic the effect of peripheral nerve injury and significantly increase the number of sensory axons growing across lesion epicenter in the spinal cord. ATP injection increased expression of several markers for regenerative activity in sensory neurons, including phospho-STAT3 and GAP43. ATP injection did not cause significant long-term adverse effects on the functions of the injected nerve. These results may lead to clinically applicable strategies for enhancing neuronal responses that support regeneration of injured axons.

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Pioneer axons employ Cajal's battering ram to enter the spinal cord.

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Pioneer axons employ Cajal's battering ram to enter the spinal cord.

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