Role of Mechanical Tension in Central Neurogenesis

神经细胞或神经元是一种细胞，其形状对于与远处目标的连接至关重要。我们对这种被称为神经突的长结构是如何形成的，以及它是如何区分接收信息（树突）和发送信息（轴突）的。最近的研究表明，当细胞伸长时，发育过程中产生的物理张力可能在决定轴突或树突极性方面起作用。该项目由生物学家和物理学家合作完成，利用一种新的技术，在培养的脑细胞上使用细玻璃针在显微镜下施加校准张力，以表征细胞对张力的反应，神经突部分可能产生的张力，以及张力是否可以决定发育中细胞在关键阶段的形态极性的关键问题。这种创新的、多学科合作的结果可能为理解神经元发育的关键方面提供潜在的突破，并且在神经科学之外对发育生物学和细胞生物学具有重要意义。

PI: Heidemann IBN: 9603640 Nerve cells, or neurons, are cells for which shape is critical for connections to distant targets. We understand very little about how the long structures, called neurites, are formed and become distinct for receiving information (a dendrite) or sending information (an axon). Recent studies have suggested that physical tension produced during development may have a role in determining the axonal or dendritic polarity as a cell elongates. This project, a collaboration between a biologist and a physicist, utilizes a novel technique of microscopically applying calibrated tension using fine glass needles on brain cells in culture, to characterize the cellular response to tension, the possible production of tension by parts of the neurite, and the crucial issue of whether tension can determine morphological polarity of the developing cell at a critical stage. Results from this innovative, multi-disciplinary collaboration could provide a potential breakthrough in understanding a key aspect of neuronal development, and be important beyond neuroscience to developmental biology and to cell biology.