Effects of temperature on the early stages of rat spinal motoneurone development in vitro.
Effects of temperature on rat spinal motoneurone morphogenesis during the early stages of development were investigated in vitro through a statistical morphometric analysis, and examined in the frame of a basic theoretical aggregation growth model. Morphological measurements in the 31.0-39.4 degrees C range revealed that: (1) primary neurite initiation was promoted by increased temperatures; (2) collateral branches formation was particularly enhanced over 37 degrees C; and (3) the elongation properties of all processes were not significantly altered. In parallel, an Arrhenius analysis proved that: (4) an activation energy of about 23 kcal/mol was required for primary neurites to emerge from a soma. These results suggest that the very first molecular events underlying neuritogenesis are rather sensitive to temperature and could imply both the transport and assembly properties of microtubules.
Bohin
Jérôme
J
IRPHE/Biophysique, CNRS, UMR 6594, 49 rue Frédéric Joliot Curie, BP 146, Technopôle de Château-Gombert, 13384 Marseille Cedex 13, France. bohin@marseille.inserm.fr
Ternaux
Jean-Pierre
JP
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000502:physiology; D048429:Cell Size / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008870:Microtubules / Q000378:metabolism; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016501:Neurites / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology*; D013696:Temperature