title: Role of vimentin in early stages of neuritogenesis in cultured hippocampal neurons.
abstract: Vimentin is expressed initially by nearly all neuronal precursors in vivo, and is replaced by neurofilaments shortly after the immature neurons become post-mitotic. Moreover, both vimentin and neurofilaments can be detected transiently within the same neurite, leaving open the possibility that vimentin may play a role in the early stages of neuritogenesis. In the present study, cultured hippocampal neurons, which transiently express vimentin in culture, were treated with sense- and antisense-oriented deoxyoligonucleotides encoding regions of the vimentin sequence that overlap the translation initiation codon. Antisense oligonucleotide treatment reduced vimentin-immunoreactivity to background levels. Moreover, while 90-100% of cultured hippocampal neurons elaborated neurites within the first 24 hr following plating, only 24-30% did so in the presence of vimentin antisense oligonucleotides. Inhibition of neurite outgrowth was reversible following removal of antisense oligonucleotide. These findings substantiate earlier studies in neuroblastoma cells, indicating a possible role for vimentin in the initiation of neurite outgrowth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19129, USA.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Boyne
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: T B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Shea
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D016375:Antisense Elements (Genetics); D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D016501:Neurites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000737:chemistry; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014746:Vimentin / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D016375:Antisense Elements (Genetics); D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014746:Vimentin