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Review
. 2016 Apr 12;7(15):19414-29.
doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.6838.

The cytoskeletal arrangements necessary to neurogenesis

Claudia Compagnucci  1 , Fiorella Piemonte  1 , Antonella Sferra  1 , Emanuela Piermarini  1 , Enrico Bertini  1
Affiliations
Review

The cytoskeletal arrangements necessary to neurogenesis

Claudia Compagnucci et al. Oncotarget. .

Abstract

During the process of neurogenesis, the stem cell committed to the neuronal cell fate starts a series of molecular and morphological changes. The understanding of the physio-pathology of mechanisms controlling the molecular and morphological changes occurring during neuronal differentiation is fundamental to the development of effective therapies for many neurologic diseases. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the biological events occurring in the cell during neuronal differentiation is still poor. In this study, we focus preliminarily on the relevance of the cytoskeletal rearrangements, which earlier drive the morphology of the neuronal precursors, and later the migrating/mature neurons. In fact, neuritogenesis, neurite branching, outgrowth and retraction are seminal to the development of a fully functional nervous system. With this in mind, we highlight the importance of iPSC technology to study the processes of cytoskeletal-driven morphological changes during neuronal differentiation.

Keywords: actin; cytoskeleton; induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs); neurogenesis; tubulins.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Drawing of a stem cell differentiating into a mature neuron, with well developed axon and dendrites
Figure 2
Figure 2. Schemata depicting the organization of proliferating stem cells (progenitor cells in this context) undergoing symmetric cell divisions (on the left side of the panel)
The right side of the panel depicts a progenitor cell ongoing asymmetric division, where one daughter cell remains proliferative (indicated by the grey nucleus), while the other (on the right) is committed toward neuronal differentiation (indicated by the green nucleus, and becoming even more committed with time, as indicated by the lavender nucleus).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure depicting the organization of the microtubules in a stem cell and in a developing neuron
A. Drawing depicting the changes of the MT network during neuritogenesis. B. Drawing of a neuron where it is clear that the MTs are oriented with minus ends towards the cell body and plus ends away from the cell body. In C. a close up view of the box in B is reported, where α- and β- tubulins have been highlighted (in light blue and lavender, respectively).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Bright field photographs of iPSCs before (Day 0) and during differentiation (Days 5, 10, 15, 20, 30) into neurons
The images show the changes in cell morphology, driven by cytoskeletal rearrangements, that the cells encounter during neuronal differentiation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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