title: Low piconewton towing of CNS axons against diffusing and surface-bound repellents requires the inhibition of motor protein-associated pathways.
abstract: Growth cones, dynamic structures at axon tips, integrate chemical and physical stimuli and translate them into coordinated axon behaviour, e.g., elongation or turning. External force application to growth cones directs and enhances axon elongation in vitro; however, direct mechanical stimulation is rarely combined with chemotactic stimulation. We describe a microfluidic device that exposes isolated cortical axons to gradients of diffusing and substrate-bound molecules, and permits the simultaneous application of piconewton (pN) forces to multiple individual growth cones via magnetic tweezers. Axons treated with Y-27632, a RhoA kinase inhibitor, were successfully towed against Semaphorin 3A gradients, which repel untreated axons, with less than 12 pN acting on a small number of neural cell adhesion molecules. Treatment with Y-27632 or monastrol, a kinesin-5 inhibitor, promoted axon towing on substrates coated with chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, potent axon repellents. Thus, modulating key molecular pathways that regulate contractile stress generation in axons counteracts the effects of repellent molecules and promotes tension-induced growth. The demonstration of parallel towing of axons towards inhibitory environments with minute forces suggests that mechanochemical stimulation may be a promising therapeutic approach for the repair of the damaged central nervous system, where regenerating axons face repellent factors over-expressed in the glial scar.
authors.affiliation: UCD Nanomedicine Centre, School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Devrim
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kilinc
authors.affiliation: UCD Nanomedicine Centre, School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blasiak
authors.affiliation: UCD Nanomedicine Centre, School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: O'Mahony
authors.affiliation: UCD Nanomedicine Centre, School of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: Gil U
authors.initials: GU
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000577:Amides / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004058:Diffusion; D051379:Mice; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D008954:Models, Biological; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D011725:Pyridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D040121:Semaphorin-3A / Q000378:metabolism; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000577:Amides; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D011725:Pyridines; D040121:Semaphorin-3A; C108830:Y 27632; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein