Regulation of Growth Cone Mitochondria by Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors

Abstract

The activity of the growth cone is necessary for neuron axon elongation during neuron development and regeneration. This is a highly dynamic process of cytoskeletal recorganization that requires a significant amount of energy provided by the mitochondria. The localization of a sufficient number of mitochondria at the growth cone is essential to support its activity during neuron development and regeneration. Both promotion and inhibition of the motility of growth cones can be induced by intrinsic factors of neuron itself such as cytoskeleton dynamics and motor protein activity, as well as extracellular molecules in the vicinity of the neuron such as nerve growth factor (NGF) and components of the extracellular matrix. The proposed hypothesis is that some of these factors have an impact on the localization and morphology of mitochondria. My work in this project is aimed to determine which of these factors have the greatest impact on mitochondria in neurons. Using sensory neurons isolate