Inhibition of the Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 Signaling Pathway Restores Cultured Spinal Cord-Injured Neuronal Migration, Adhesion, and Dendritic Spine Development.

Inhibition of the Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 Signaling Pathway Restores Cultured Spinal Cord-Injured Neuronal Migration, Adhesion, and Dendritic Spine Development. Neurochem Res. 2016 Apr 21; Authors: Xu D, Cao F, Sun S, Liu T, Feng S Abstract The Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling pathway plays an important role in central and peripheral neurons in functions such as dendritic arborization, neuronal polarity, and axon assembly. However, emerging evidence also shows that up-regulation of this signaling pathway may lead to the development of spinal cord injury. The present study aimed to determine the effects of Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling pathway inhibition on properties of spinal cord-injured neurons. First, neurons from spinal cord-injured C57BL/6 J mouse pups and sham-operated C57BL/6 J mouse pups were harvested. Then, immunofluorescence, western blotting, cell adhesion and cell migration assays, and DiI labeling were employed to investigate the effect of Ras/Raf/ERK1/2 signaling pathway inhibition on spinal cord-injured neurons. Immunofluorescence results of synapse formation indicated that the experimental spinal cord injury model was successfully established. Western blot results identified upregulated Erk phosphorylation in the spinal cord-injured neurons, and also showed that U0126 inhibited phosphorylation of Erk, which is a downstream kinase in the Ras/Raf signaling pathway. Additionally, cell migration and adhesion was significantly increased in ...
Source: Neurochemical Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research