Neurofilaments (NFs), which are composed of NF-L, NF-M, and NF-H, are required for the development of normal axonal caliber, a property that in turn is a critical determinant of axonal conduction velocity. To investigate how each subunit contributes to the radial growth of axons, we used transgenic mice to alter the subunit composition of NFs. Increasing each NF subunit individually inhibits radial axonal growth, while increasing both NF-M and NF-H reduces growth even more severely. An increase in NF-L results in an increased filament number but reduced interfilament distance. Conversely, increasing NF-M, NF-H, or both reduces filament number, but does not alter nearest neighbor interfilament distance. Only a combined increase of NF-L with either NF-M or NF-H promotes radial axonal growth. These results demonstrate that both NF-M and NF-H play complementary roles with NF-L in determining normal axonal calibers.
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June 01 1996
Subunit composition of neurofilaments specifies axonal diameter.
Z Xu,
Z Xu
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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J R Marszalek,
J R Marszalek
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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M K Lee,
M K Lee
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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P C Wong,
P C Wong
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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J Folmer,
J Folmer
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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T O Crawford,
T O Crawford
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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S T Hsieh,
S T Hsieh
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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J W Griffin,
J W Griffin
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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D W Cleveland
D W Cleveland
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
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Z Xu
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
J R Marszalek
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
M K Lee
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
P C Wong
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
J Folmer
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
T O Crawford
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
S T Hsieh
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
J W Griffin
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
D W Cleveland
Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
J Cell Biol (1996) 133 (5): 1061–1069.
Citation
Z Xu, J R Marszalek, M K Lee, P C Wong, J Folmer, T O Crawford, S T Hsieh, J W Griffin, D W Cleveland; Subunit composition of neurofilaments specifies axonal diameter.. J Cell Biol 1 June 1996; 133 (5): 1061–1069. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.133.5.1061
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