Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 1997 · 261 citations · 28 references
Life SciencesDevelopmental BiologyNeuroscienceDevelopmental NeuroscienceMolecular NeuroscienceSynaptic PlasticityNeural Circuit FormationNeural DevelopmentNeurite OutgrowthNeurogenesisNeurotrophic FactorsSynaptogenesisActivity-dependent Neuronal DifferentiationDevelopmental Synaptic RemodelingEmbryonic Hippocampal DevelopmentHippocampal PlasticityNeuronal Activity-dependent PlasticityNeurotrophin Gene ExpressionNeurotrophin Signaling In DevelopmentNeurotrophin-mediated Plasticity
Neural activity and neurotrophins induce synaptic remodeling in part by altering gene expression. A cDNA encoding a glycosylphoshatidylinositol-anchored protein was identified by screening for hippocampal genes that are induced by neural activity. This molecule, named neuritin, is expressed in postmitotic-differentiating neurons of the developing nervous system and neuronal structures associated with plasticity in the adult. Neuritin message is induced by neuronal activity and by the activity-regulated neurotrophins BDNF and NT-3. Purified recombinant neuritin promotes neurite outgrowth and arborization in primary embryonic hippocampal and cortical cultures. These data implicate neuritin as a downstream effector of activity-induced neurite outgrowth.
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