Vimentin-mediated cellular uptake of C3 exoenzyme

肉毒杆菌C3bot转移酶及其覆盖氨基酸154-182的肽诱导轴突和树突生长和分支，在培养的原代神经元细胞以及神经元病变动物模型中证实了效果。Vimentin是一种中间丝蛋白，似乎是C3bot的膜受体。除了vimentin外，其他膜表面分子（碳水化合物，脂质）可能与C3bot结合和内化有关。利用vimentin敲除（小鼠）模型，我们证实了vimentin在c3bot介导的轴突生长中的作用。我们现在的目标是鉴定和表征与C3bot神经元效应相关的其他细胞表面和细胞内受体。此外，我们将研究尚不清楚的波形蛋白分泌及其在神经元再生中的作用。

C3bot transferase from Clostridium botulinum and the peptide thereof covering amino acids 154-182 induce axonal and dendritic growth and branching, effects verified on primary neuronal cells in culture as well as in a neuronal lesion animal models. Vimentin, an intermediate filament protein appears to work as the membrane receptor for C3bot. Besides vimentin additional membrane surface molecules (carbohydrates, lipids) may be relevant for C3bot binding and internalization. Using a vimentin knock out (mice) model we confirmed the role of vimentin for C3bot-mediated axonal growth. We now aim to identify and characterize additional cell surface and intracellular receptors relevant for neuronal effects of C3bot. Additionally, we will study the poorly characterized secretion of vimentin and its role in neuronal regeneration.