BDNF instructs the kinase LKB1 to grow an axon.
Determining which neurite of a differentiating neuron is to become the axon is a crucial step in neuronal morphogenesis. Two groups (Barnes et al., 2007; Shelly et al., 2007) now report that axon specification in vivo is mediated by extracellular signals acting through the serine/threonine kinase LKB1.
Winckler
Bettina
B
Department of Neuroscience, University of Virginia Medical School, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. bwinckler@virginia.edu <bwinckler@virginia.edu>
D000091162:AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D016501:Neurites / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C491654:Stk11 protein, mouse; C488755:Stk11 protein, rat; D000091162:AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases