Calpain activity promotes the sealing of severed giant axons

Repair of traumatic lesions to the plasmalemma of neurons and other cells: Commonalities, conflicts, and controversies

Neuroscientists and Cell Biologists have known for many decades that eukaryotic cells, including neurons, are surrounded by a plasmalemma/axolemma consisting of a phospholipid bilayer that regulates trans-membrane diffusion of ions (including calcium) and other substances. Cells often incur plasmalemmal damage via traumatic injury and various diseases. If the damaged plasmalemma is not rapidly repaired within minutes, activation of apoptotic pathways by calcium influx often results in cell death. We review publications reporting what is less-well known (and not yet covered in neuroscience or cell biology textbooks): that calcium influx at the lesion sites ranging from small nm-sized holes to complete axonal transection activates parallel biochemical pathways that induce vesicles/membrane-bound structures to migrate and interact to restore original barrier properties and eventual reestablishment of the plasmalemma. We assess the reliability of, and problems with, various measures (e.g., membrane voltage, input resistance, current flow, tracer dyes, confocal microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy) used individually and in combination to assess plasmalemmal sealing in various cell types (e.g., invertebrate giant axons, oocytes, hippocampal and other mammalian neurons). We identify controversies such as plug versus patch hypotheses that attempt to account for currently available data on the subcellular mechanisms of plasmalemmal repair/sealing. We describe current research gaps and potential future developments, such as much more extensive correlations of biochemical/biophysical measures with sub-cellular micromorphology. We compare and contrast naturally occurring sealing with recently-discovered artificially-induced plasmalemmal sealing by polyethylene glycol (PEG) that bypasses all natural pathways for membrane repair. We assess other recent developments such as adaptive membrane responses in neighboring cells following injury to an adjacent cell. Finally, we speculate how a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in natural and artificial plasmalemmal sealing is needed to develop better clinical treatments for muscular dystrophies, stroke and other ischemic conditions, and various cancers.

Role of calcium-sensor proteins in cell membrane repair

Cell membrane repair is a critical process used to maintain cell integrity and survival from potentially lethal chemical, and mechanical membrane injury. Rapid increases in local calcium levels due to a membrane rupture have been widely accepted as a trigger for multiple membrane-resealing models that utilize exocytosis, endocytosis, patching, and shedding mechanisms. Calcium-sensor proteins, such as synaptotagmins (Syt), dysferlin, S100 proteins, and annexins, have all been identified to regulate, or participate in, multiple modes of membrane repair. Dysfunction of membrane repair from inefficiencies or genetic alterations in these proteins contributes to diseases such as muscular dystrophy (MD) and heart disease. The present review covers the role of some of the key calcium-sensor proteins and their involvement in membrane repair.

Calcium in Neuronal and Glial Response to Axotomy

Neurotrauma assumes an instant or delayed disconnection of axons (axotomy), which affects not only neurons, but surrounding glia as well. Not only mechanically injured glia near the site of disconnection, especially transection, is subjected to the damage, but also glia that is remote from the lesion site. Glial cells, which surround the neuronal body, in turn, support neuron survival, so there is a mutual protection between neuron and glia. Calcium signaling is a central mediator of all post-axotomy events, both in neuron and glia, playing a critical role in their survival/regeneration or death/degeneration. The involvement of calcium in post-axotomy survival of the remote, mechanically intact glia is poorly studied. The purpose of this review is to sum up the calcium-involving mechanisms in responses of neurons and glial cells to axotomy to show their importance and to give some suggestions for future research of remote glia in this context.

The effect of axotomy on firing and ultrastructure of the crayfish mechanoreceptor neurons and satellite glial cells

Neurotrauma is among main causes of human disability and death. We studied effects of axotomy on ultrastructure and neuronal activity of a simple model object - an isolated crayfish stretch receptor that consists of single mechanoreceptor neurons (MRN) enwrapped by multilayer glial envelope. After isolation, MRN regularly fired until spontaneous activity cessation. Axotomy did not change significantly MRN spike amplitude and firing rate. However, the duration of neuron activity from MRN isolation to its spontaneous cessation decreased in axotomized MRN relative to intact neuron. [Ca²⁺] in MRN axon and soma increased 3-10 min after axotomy. Ca²⁺ entry through ion channels in the axolemma accelerated axotomy-stimulated firing cessation. MRN incubation with Ca²⁺ionophore ionomycin accelerated MRN inactivation, whereas Ca²⁺-channel blocker Cd²⁺ prolonged firing. Activity duration of either intact, or axotomized MRN did not change in the presence of ryanodine or dantrolene, inhibitors of ryanodin-sensitive Ca²⁺ channels in endoplasmic reticulum. Thapsigargin, inhibitor of endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase, or its activator ochratoxin were ineffective. Ultrastructural study showed that the defect in the axon transected by thin scissors is sealed by fused axolemma, glial and collagen layers. Only the 30-50 μm long segment completely lost microtubules and contained swelled mitochondria. The microtubular bundle remained undamaged at 300 μm away from the axotomy site. However, mitochondria within the 200-300 μm segment were strongly condensed and lost matrix and cristae. Glial and collagen layers exhibited greater damage. Swelling and edema of glial layers, collagen disorganization and rupture occurred within this segment. Thus, axotomy stronger damages glia/collagen envelope, axonal microtubules and mitochondria.

Loss of calpains-1 and -2 prevents repair of plasma membrane scrape injuries, but not small pores, and induces a severe muscular dystrophy

The ubiquitous calpains, calpain-1 and -2, play important roles in Ca²⁺-dependent membrane repair. Mechanically active tissues like skeletal muscle are particularly reliant on mechanisms to repair and remodel membrane injury, such as those caused by eccentric damage. We demonstrate that calpain-1 and -2 are master effectors of Ca²⁺-dependent repair of mechanical plasma membrane scrape injuries, although they are dispensable for repair/removal of small wounds caused by pore-forming agents. Using CRISPR gene-edited human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cell lines, we established that loss of both calpains-1 and -2 (CAPNS1^-/-) virtually ablates Ca²⁺-dependent repair of mechanical scrape injuries but does not affect injury or recovery from perforation by streptolysin-O or saponin. In contrast, cells with targeted knockout of either calpain-1 (CAPN1^-/-) or -2 (CAPN2^-/-) show near-normal repair of mechanical injuries, inferring that both calpain-1 and calpain-2 are equally capable of conducting the cascade of proteolytic cleavage events to reseal a membrane injury, including that of the known membrane repair agent dysferlin. A severe muscular dystrophy in a murine model with skeletal muscle knockout of Capns1 highlights vital roles for calpain-1 and/or -2 for health and viability of skeletal muscles not compensated for by calpain-3 (CAPN3). We propose that the dystrophic phenotype relates to loss of maintenance of plasma membrane/cytoskeletal networks by calpains-1 and -2 in response to directed and dysfunctional Ca²⁺-signaling, pathways hyperstimulated in the context of membrane injury. With CAPN1 variants associated with spastic paraplegia, a severe dystrophy observed with muscle-specific loss of calpain-1 and -2 activity identifies CAPN2 and CAPNS1 as plausible candidate neuromuscular disease genes.

Natural mechanisms and artificial PEG-induced mechanism that repair traumatic damage to the plasmalemma in eukaryotes

Eukaryotic tissues are composed of individual cells surrounded by a plasmalemma that consists of a phospholipid bilayer with hydrophobic heads that bind cell water. Bound-water creates a thermodynamic barrier that impedes the fusion of a plasmalemma with other membrane-bound intracellular structures or with the plasmalemma of adjacent cells. Plasmalemmal damage consisting of small or large holes or complete transections of a cell or axon results in calcium influx at the lesion site. Calcium activates fusogenic pathways that have been phylogenetically conserved and that lower thermodynamic barriers for fusion of membrane-bound structures. Calcium influx also activates phylogenetically conserved sealing mechanisms that mobilize the gradual accumulation and fusion of vesicles/membrane-bound structures that seal the damaged membrane. These naturally occurring sealing mechanisms for different cells vary based on the type of lesion, the type of cell, the proximity of intracellular membranous structures to the lesion and the relation to adjacent cells. The reliability of different measures to assess plasmalemmal sealing need be carefully considered for each cell type. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) bypasses calcium and naturally occurring fusogenic pathways to artificially fuse adjacent cells (PEG-fusion) or artificially seal transected axons (PEG-sealing). PEG-fusion techniques can also be used to rapidly rejoin the closely apposed, open ends of severed axons. PEG-fused axons do not (Wallerian) degenerate and PEG-fused nerve allografts are not immune-rejected, and enable behavioral recoveries not observed for any other clinical treatment. A better understanding of natural and artificial mechanisms that induce membrane fusion should provide better clinical treatment for many disorders involving plasmalemmal damage.

Axon Regeneration in the Central Nervous System: Facing the Challenges from the Inside

After an injury in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS), lesioned axons fail to regenerate. This failure to regenerate contrasts with axons’ remarkable potential to grow during embryonic development and after an injury in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Several intracellular mechanisms—including cytoskeletal dynamics, axonal transport and trafficking, signaling and transcription of regenerative programs, and epigenetic modifications—control axon regeneration. In this review, we describe how manipulation of intrinsic mechanisms elicits a regenerative response in different organisms and how strategies are implemented to form the basis of a future regenerative treatment after CNS injury.

Nociceptive Biology of Molluscs and Arthropods: Evolutionary Clues About Functions and Mechanisms Potentially Related to Pain

Important insights into the selection pressures and core molecular modules contributing to the evolution of pain-related processes have come from studies of nociceptive systems in several molluscan and arthropod species. These phyla, and the chordates that include humans, last shared a common ancestor approximately 550 million years ago. Since then, animals in these phyla have continued to be subject to traumatic injury, often from predators, which has led to similar adaptive behaviors (e.g., withdrawal, escape, recuperative behavior) and physiological responses to injury in each group. Comparisons across these taxa provide clues about the contributions of convergent evolution and of conservation of ancient adaptive mechanisms to general nociceptive and pain-related functions. Primary nociceptors have been investigated extensively in a few molluscan and arthropod species, with studies of long-lasting nociceptive sensitization in the gastropod, Aplysia, and the insect, Drosophila, being especially fruitful. In Aplysia, nociceptive sensitization has been investigated as a model for aversive memory and for hyperalgesia. Neuromodulator-induced, activity-dependent, and axotomy-induced plasticity mechanisms have been defined in synapses, cell bodies, and axons of Aplysia primary nociceptors. Studies of nociceptive sensitization in Drosophila larvae have revealed numerous molecular contributors in primary nociceptors and interacting cells. Interestingly, molecular contributors examined thus far in Aplysia and Drosophila are largely different, but both sets overlap extensively with those in mammalian pain-related pathways. In contrast to results from Aplysia and Drosophila, nociceptive sensitization examined in moth larvae (Manduca) disclosed central hyperactivity but no obvious peripheral sensitization of nociceptive responses. Squid (Doryteuthis) show injury-induced sensitization manifested as behavioral hypersensitivity to tactile and especially visual stimuli, and as hypersensitivity and spontaneous activity in nociceptor terminals. Temporary blockade of nociceptor activity during injury subsequently increased mortality when injured squid were exposed to fish predators, providing the first demonstration in any animal of the adaptiveness of nociceptive sensitization. Immediate responses to noxious stimulation and nociceptive sensitization have also been examined behaviorally and physiologically in a snail (Helix), octopus (Adopus), crayfish (Astacus), hermit crab (Pagurus), and shore crab (Hemigrapsus). Molluscs and arthropods have systems that suppress nociceptive responses, but whether opioid systems play antinociceptive roles in these phyla is uncertain.

Muscle Cells Fix Breaches by Orchestrating a Membrane Repair Ballet

Skeletal muscle undergoes many micro-membrane lesions at physiological state. Based on their sizes and magnitude these lesions are repaired via different complexes on a specific spatio-temporal manner. One of the major repair complex is a dysferlin-dependent mechanism. Accordingly, mutations in the DYSF gene encoding dysferlin results in the development of several muscle pathologies called dysferlinopathies, where abnormalities of the membrane repair process have been characterized in patients and animal models. Recent efforts have been deployed to decipher the function of dysferlin, they shed light on its direct implication in sarcolemma resealing after injuries. These discoveries served as a strong ground to design therapeutic approaches for dysferlin-deficient patients. This review detailed the different partners and function of dysferlin and positions the sarcolemma repair in normal and pathological conditions.

Shigella entry unveils a calcium/calpain-dependent mechanism for inhibiting sumoylation

Disruption of the sumoylation/desumoylation equilibrium is associated with several disease states such as cancer and infections, however the mechanisms regulating the global SUMO balance remain poorly defined. Here, we show that infection by Shigella flexneri, the causative agent of human bacillary dysentery, switches off host sumoylation during epithelial cell infection in vitro and in vivo and that this effect is mainly mediated by a calcium/calpain-induced cleavage of the SUMO E1 enzyme SAE2, thus leading to sumoylation inhibition. Furthermore, we describe a mechanism by which Shigella promotes its own invasion by altering the sumoylation state of RhoGDIα, a master negative regulator of RhoGTPase activity and actin polymerization. Together, our data suggest that SUMO modification is essential to restrain pathogenic bacterial entry by limiting cytoskeletal rearrangement induced by bacterial effectors. Moreover, these findings identify calcium-activated calpains as powerful modulators of cellular sumoylation levels with potentially broad implications in several physiological and pathological situations.

Annexins in plasma membrane repair

Disruption of the plasma membrane poses deadly threat to eukaryotic cells and survival requires a rapid membrane repair system. Recent evidence reveal various plasma membrane repair mechanisms, which are required for cells to cope with membrane lesions including membrane fusion and replacement strategies, remodeling of cortical actin cytoskeleton and vesicle wound patching. Members of the annexin protein family, which are Ca2+-triggered phospholipid-binding proteins emerge as important components of the plasma membrane repair system. Here, we discuss the mechanisms of plasma membrane repair involving annexins spanning from yeast to human cancer cells.

Repair of traumatic plasmalemmal damage to neurons and other eukaryotic cells

The repair (sealing) of plasmalemmal damage, consisting of small holes to complete transections, is critical for cell survival, especially for neurons that rarely regenerate cell bodies. We first describe and evaluate different measures of cell sealing. Some measures, including morphological/ultra-structural observations, membrane potential, and input resistance, provide very ambiguous assessments of plasmalemmal sealing. In contrast, measures of ionic current flow and dye barriers can, if appropriately used, provide more accurate assessments. We describe the effects of various substances (calcium, calpains, cytoskeletal proteins, ESCRT proteins, mUNC-13, NSF, PEG) and biochemical pathways (PKA, PKC, PLC, Epac, cytosolic oxidation) on plasmalemmal sealing probability, and suggest that substances, pathways, and cellular events associated with plasmalemmal sealing have undergone a very conservative evolution. During sealing, calcium ion influx mobilizes vesicles and other membranous structures (lysosomes, mitochondria, etc.) in a continuous fashion to form a vesicular plug that gradually restricts diffusion of increasingly smaller molecules and ions over a period of seconds to minutes. Furthermore, we find no direct evidence that sealing occurs through the collapse and fusion of severed plasmalemmal leaflets, or in a single step involving the fusion of one large wound vesicle with the nearby, undamaged plasmalemma. We describe how increases in perikaryal calcium levels following axonal transection account for observations that cell body survival decreases the closer an axon is transected to the perikaryon. Finally, we speculate on relationships between plasmalemmal sealing, Wallerian degeneration, and the ability of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to seal cell membranes and rejoin severed axonal ends – an important consideration for the future treatment of trauma to peripheral nerves. A better knowledge of biochemical pathways and cytoplasmic structures involved in plasmalemmal sealing might provide insights to develop treatments for traumatic nerve injuries, stroke, muscular dystrophy, and other pathologies.

Degeneration, Trophic Interactions, and Repair of Severed Axons: A Reconsideration of Some Common Assumptions

We suggest that several interrelated properties of severed axons (degeneration, trophic dependencies, initial repair, and eventual repair) differ in important ways from commonly held assumptions about those properties. Specifically, (1) axotomy does not necessarily produce rapid degeneration of distal axonal segments because (2) the trophic maintenance of nerve axons does not necessarily depend entirely on proteins transported from the perikaryon—but instead axonal proteins can be trophically maintained by slowing their degradation and/or by acquiring new proteins via axonal synthesis or transfer from adjacent cells (e.g., glia). (3) The initial repair of severed distal or proximal segments occurs by barriers (seals) formed amid accumulations of vesicles and/or myelin delaminations induced by calcium influx at cut axonal ends—rather than by collapse and fusion of cut axolemmal leaflets. (4) The eventual repair of severed mammalian CNS axons does not necessarily have to occur by neuritic outgrowths, which slowly extend from cut proximal ends to possibly reestablish lost functions weeks to years after axotomy—but instead complete repair can be induced within minutes by polyethylene glycol to rejoin (fuse) the cut ends of surviving proximal and distal stumps. Strategies to repair CNS lesions based on fusion techniques combined with rehabilitative training and induced axonal outgrowth may soon provide therapies that can at least partially restore lost CNS functions.

Traumatically injured astrocytes release a proteomic signature modulated by STAT3-dependent cell survival

Molecular markers associated with CNS injury are of diagnostic interest. Mechanical trauma generates cellular deformation associated with membrane permeability with unknown molecular consequences. We used an in vitro model of stretch-injury and proteomic analyses to determine protein changes in murine astrocytes and their surrounding fluids. Abrupt pressure-pulse stretching resulted in the rapid release of 59 astrocytic proteins with profiles reflecting cell injury and cell death, i.e., mechanoporation and cell lysis. This acute trauma-release proteome was overrepresented with metabolic proteins compared with the uninjured cellular proteome, bearing relevance for post-traumatic metabolic depression. Astrocyte-specific deletion of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3-CKO) resulted in reduced stretch-injury tolerance, elevated necrosis and increased protein release. Consistent with more lysed cells, more protein complexes, nuclear and transport proteins were released from STAT3-CKO versus nontransgenic astrocytes. STAT3-CKO astrocytes had reduced basal expression of GFAP, lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB), aldolase C (ALDOC), and astrocytic phosphoprotein 15 (PEA15), and elevated levels of tropomyosin (TPM4) and α actinin 4 (ACTN4). Stretching caused STAT3-dependent cellular depletion of PEA15 and GFAP, and its filament disassembly in subpopulations of injured astrocytes. PEA15 and ALDOC signals were low in injured astrocytes acutely after mouse spinal cord crush injury and were robustly expressed in reactive astrocytes 1 day postinjury. In contrast, α crystallin (CRYAB) was present in acutely injured astrocytes, and absent from uninjured and reactive astrocytes, demonstrating novel marker differences among postinjury astrocytes. These findings reveal a proteomic signature of traumatically-injured astrocytes reflecting STAT3-dependent cellular survival with potential diagnostic value.

Live Imaging of Calcium Dynamics during Axon Degeneration Reveals Two Functionally Distinct Phases of Calcium Influx

Calcium is a key regulator of axon degeneration caused by trauma and disease, but its specific spatial and temporal dynamics in injured axons remain unclear. To clarify the function of calcium in axon degeneration, we observed calcium dynamics in single injured neurons in live zebrafish larvae and tested the temporal requirement for calcium in zebrafish neurons and cultured mouse DRG neurons. Using laser axotomy to induce Wallerian degeneration (WD) in zebrafish peripheral sensory axons, we monitored calcium dynamics from injury to fragmentation, revealing two stereotyped phases of axonal calcium influx. First, axotomy triggered a transient local calcium wave originating at the injury site. This initial calcium wave only disrupted mitochondria near the injury site and was not altered by expression of the protective WD slow (WldS) protein. Inducing multiple waves with additional axotomies did not change the kinetics of degeneration. In contrast, a second phase of calcium influx occurring minutes before fragmentation spread as a wave throughout the axon, entered mitochondria, and was abolished by WldS expression. In live zebrafish, chelating calcium after the first wave, but before the second wave, delayed the progress of fragmentation. In cultured DRG neurons, chelating calcium early in the process of WD did not alter degeneration, but chelating calcium late in WD delayed fragmentation. We propose that a terminal calcium wave is a key instructive component of the axon degeneration program.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Axon degeneration resulting from trauma or neurodegenerative disease can cause devastating deficits in neural function. Understanding the molecular and cellular events that execute axon degeneration is essential for developing treatments to address these conditions. Calcium is known to contribute to axon degeneration, but its temporal requirements in this process have been unclear. Live calcium imaging in severed zebrafish neurons and temporally controlled pharmacological treatments in both zebrafish and cultured mouse sensory neurons revealed that axonal calcium influx late in the degeneration process regulates axon fragmentation. These findings suggest that temporal considerations will be crucial for developing treatments for diseases associated with axon degeneration.

Calcium signaling in membrane repair

Resealing allows cells to mend damaged membranes rapidly when plasma membrane (PM) disruptions occur. Models of PM repair mechanisms include the "lipid-patch", "endocytic removal", and "macro-vesicle shedding" models, all of which postulate a dependence on local increases in intracellular Ca(2+) at injury sites. Multiple calcium sensors, including synaptotagmin (Syt) VII, dysferlin, and apoptosis-linked gene-2 (ALG-2), are involved in PM resealing, suggesting that Ca(2+) may regulate multiple steps of the repair process. Although earlier studies focused exclusively on external Ca(2+), recent studies suggest that Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores may also be important for PM resealing. Hence, depending on injury size and the type of injury, multiple sources of Ca(2+) may be recruited to trigger and orchestrate repair processes. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms by which the resealing process is promoted by vesicular Ca(2+) channels and Ca(2+) sensors that accumulate at damage sites.

Membrane Repair: Mechanisms and Pathophysiology

Eukaryotic cells have been confronted throughout their evolution with potentially lethal plasma membrane injuries, including those caused by osmotic stress, by infection from bacterial toxins and parasites, and by mechanical and ischemic stress. The wounded cell can survive if a rapid repair response is mounted that restores boundary integrity. Calcium has been identified as the key trigger to activate an effective membrane repair response that utilizes exocytosis and endocytosis to repair a membrane tear, or remove a membrane pore. We here review what is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms of membrane repair, with particular emphasis on the relevance of repair as it relates to disease pathologies. Collective evidence reveals membrane repair employs primitive yet robust molecular machinery, such as vesicle fusion and contractile rings, processes evolutionarily honed for simplicity and success. Yet to be fully understood is whether core membrane repair machinery exists in all cells, or whether evolutionary adaptation has resulted in multiple compensatory repair pathways that specialize in different tissues and cells within our body.

Calpain cleavage within dysferlin exon 40a releases a synaptotagmin-like module for membrane repair

The muscular dystrophy protein dysferlin plays a key role in the calcium-activated vesicle fusion of membrane repair. This study establishes calpains as upstream regulators of dysferlin in the membrane repair cascade and further demonstrates that similar C-terminal modules are enzymatically released from other ferlin family members.

Dysferlin and calpain are important mediators of the emergency response to repair plasma membrane injury. Our previous research revealed that membrane injury induces cleavage of dysferlin to release a synaptotagmin-like C-terminal module we termed mini-dysferlin_C72. Here we show that injury-activated cleavage of dysferlin is mediated by the ubiquitous calpains via a cleavage motif encoded by alternately spliced exon 40a. An exon 40a–specific antibody recognizing cleaved mini-dysferlin_C72 intensely labels the circumference of injury sites, supporting a key role for dysferlin_Exon40a isoforms in membrane repair and consistent with our evidence suggesting that the calpain-cleaved C-terminal module is the form specifically recruited to injury sites. Calpain cleavage of dysferlin is a ubiquitous response to membrane injury in multiple cell lineages and occurs independently of the membrane repair protein MG53. Our study links calpain and dysferlin in the calcium-activated vesicle fusion of membrane repair, placing calpains as upstream mediators of a membrane repair cascade that elicits cleaved dysferlin as an effector. Of importance, we reveal that myoferlin and otoferlin are also cleaved enzymatically to release similar C-terminal modules, bearing two C2 domains and a transmembrane domain. Evolutionary preservation of this feature highlights its functional importance and suggests that this highly conserved C-terminal region of ferlins represents a functionally specialized vesicle fusion module.

Neuronal repair: Apoptotic proteins make good

The potential of the central nervous system (CNS) to regenerate is regulated by a complex interaction of neuronal intrinsic and extrinsic factors that remain poorly understood. Significant research has been dedicated to identifying these factors to facilitate design of therapies that will treat the functional impairment associated with CNS injuries. Over the last decade, the development of in vivo laser severing of single axons in C. elegans has established an invaluable model for the genetic identification of novel regeneration factors. In a recent study we report the unexpected identification of the core apoptotic proteins CED-4/Apaf-1 and the executioner caspase CED-3 as important factors that promote early events in regeneration in C. elegans. Other upstream regulators of apoptosis do not influence regeneration, indicating the existence of a novel mechanism for activation of CED-4 and CED-3 in neuronal repair. CED-4 and CED-3 function downstream of injury-induced calcium transients and appear to act through the conserved DLK-1 pathway to promote regeneration. We propose a working model for calcium-dependent localized activation of CED-4 and CED-3 caspase and discuss questions raised including mechanisms for spatially regulating activated CED-3 and the possible substrates that it might cleave to initiate regeneration.

Calcium, calpain, and calcineurin in low-frequency depression of transmitter release

Low-frequency depression (LFD) of transmitter release occurs at phasic synapses with stimulation at 0.2 Hz in both isolated crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) neuromuscular junction (NMJ) preparations and in intact animals. LFD is regulated by presynaptic activity of the Ca(2+)-dependent phosphatase calcineurin (Silverman-Gavrila and Charlton, 2009). Since the fast Ca(2+) chelator BAPTA-AM inhibits LFD but the slow chelator EGTA-AM does not, the Ca(2+) sensor for LFD may be close to a Ca(2+) source at active zones. Calcineurin can be activated by the Ca(2+)-activated protease calpain, and immunostaining showed that both proteins are present at nerve terminals. Three calpain inhibitors, calpain inhibitor I, MDL-28170, and PD150606, but not the control compound PD145305, inhibit LFD both in the intact animal as shown by electromyograms and by intracellular recordings at neuromuscular junctions. Analysis of mini-EPSPs indicated that these inhibitors had minimal postsynaptic effects. Proteolytic activity in CNS extract, detected by a fluorescent calpain substrate, was modulated by Ca(2+) and calpain inhibitors. Western blot analysis of CNS extract showed that proteolysis of calcineurin to a fragment consistent with the constitutively active form required Ca(2+) and was blocked by calpain inhibitors. Inhibition of LFD by calpain inhibition blocks the reduction in phosphoactin and the depolymerization of tubulin that normally occurs in LFD, probably by blocking the dephosphorylation of cytoskeletal proteins by calcineurin. In contrast, high-frequency depression does not involve protein phosphorylation- or calpain-dependent mechanisms. LFD may involve a specific pathway in which local Ca(2+) signaling activates presynaptic calpain and calcineurin at active zones and causes changes of tubulin cytoskeleton.

The role of transcription-independent damage signals in the initiation of epithelial wound healing

Wound healing is an essential biological process that comprises sequential steps aimed at restoring the architecture and function of damaged cells and tissues. This process begins with conserved damage signals, such as Ca(2+), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ATP, that diffuse through epithelial tissues and initiate immediate gene transcription-independent cellular effects, including cell shape changes, the formation of functional actomyosin structures and the recruitment of immune cells. These events integrate the ensuing transcription of specific wound response genes that further advance the wound healing response. The immediate importance of transcription-independent damage signals illustrates that healing a wound begins as soon as damage occurs.

Cellular mechanisms of plasmalemmal sealing and axonal repair by polyethylene glycol and methylene blue

Mammalian neurons and all other eukaryotic cells endogenously repair traumatic injury within minutes by a Ca²⁺-induced accumulation of vesicles that interact and fuse with each other and the plasmalemma to seal any openings. We have used uptake or exclusion of extracellular fluorescent dye to measure the ability of rat hippocampal B104 cells or rat sciatic nerves to repair (seal) transected neurites in vitro or transected axons ex vivo. We report that endogenous sealing in both preparations is enhanced by Ca²⁺-containing solutions and is decreased by Ca²⁺-free solutions containing antioxidants such as dithiothreitol (DTT), melatonin (MEL), methylene blue (MB), and various toxins that decrease vesicular interactions. In contrast, the fusogen polyethylene glycol (PEG) at 10-50 mM artificially seals the cut ends of B104 cells and rat sciatic axons within seconds and is not affected by Ca²⁺ or any of the substances that affect endogenous sealing. At higher concentrations, PEG decreases sealing of transected axons and disrupts the plasmalemma of intact cells. These PEG-sealing data are consistent with the hypothesis that lower concentrations of PEG directly seal a damaged plasmalemma. We have considered these and other data to devise a protocol using a well-specified series of solutions that vary in tonicity, Ca²⁺, MB, and PEG content. These protocols rapidly and consistently repair (PEG-fuse) rat sciatic axons in completely cut sciatic nerves in vivo rapidly and dramatically to restore long-lasting morphological continuity, action potential conduction, and behavioral functions.

Wound repair: toward understanding and integration of single-cell and multicellular wound responses

The importance of wound healing to medicine and biology has long been evident, and consequently, wound healing has been the subject of intense investigation for many years. However, several relatively recent developments have added new impetus to wound repair research: the increasing application of model systems; the growing recognition that single cells have a robust, complex, and medically relevant wound healing response; and the emerging recognition that different modes of wound repair bear an uncanny resemblance to other basic biological processes such as morphogenesis and cytokinesis. In this review, each of these developments is described, and their significance for wound healing research is considered. In addition, overlapping mechanisms of single-cell and multicellular wound healing are highlighted, and it is argued that they are more similar than is often recognized. Based on this and other information, a simple model to explain the evolutionary relationships of cytokinesis, single-cell wound repair, multicellular wound repair, and developmental morphogenesis is proposed. Finally, a series of important, but as yet unanswered, questions is posed.

A model for sealing plasmalemmal damage in neurons and other eukaryotic cells

Plasmalemmal repair is necessary for survival of damaged eukaryotic cells. Ca(2+) influx through plasmalemmal disruptions activates calpain, vesicle accumulation at lesion sites, and membrane fusion proteins; Ca(2+) influx also initiates competing apoptotic pathways. Using the formation of a dye barrier (seal) to assess plasmalemmal repair, we now report that B104 hippocampal cells with neurites transected nearer (<50 μm) to the soma seal at a lower frequency and slower rate compared to cells with neurites transected farther (>50 μm) from the soma. Analogs of cAMP, including protein kinase A (PKA)-specific and Epac-specific cAMP, each increase the frequency and rate of sealing and can even initiate sealing in the absence of Ca(2+) influx at both transection distances. Furthermore, Epac activates a cAMP-dependent, PKA-independent, pathway involved in plasmalemmal sealing. The frequency and rate of plasmalemmal sealing are decreased by a small molecule inhibitor of PKA targeted to its catalytic subunit (KT5720), a peptide inhibitor targeted to its regulatory subunits (PKI), an inhibitor of a novel PKC (an nPKCη pseudosubstrate fragment), and an antioxidant (melatonin). Given these and other data, we propose a model for redundant parallel pathways of Ca(2+)-dependent plasmalemmal sealing of injured neurons mediated in part by nPKCs, cytosolic oxidation, and cAMP activation of PKA and Epac. We also propose that the evolutionary origin of these pathways and substances was to repair plasmalemmal damage in eukaryotic cells. Greater understanding of vesicle interactions, proteins, and pathways involved in plasmalemmal sealing should suggest novel neuroprotective treatments for traumatic nerve injuries and neurodegenerative disorders.

Exocytosis of acid sphingomyelinase by wounded cells promotes endocytosis and plasma membrane repair

Rapid plasma membrane resealing is essential for cellular survival. Earlier studies showed that plasma membrane repair requires Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis of lysosomes and a rapid form of endocytosis that removes membrane lesions. However, the functional relationship between lysosomal exocytosis and the rapid endocytosis that follows membrane injury is unknown. In this study, we show that the lysosomal enzyme acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) is released extracellularly when cells are wounded in the presence of Ca(2+). ASM-deficient cells, including human cells from Niemann-Pick type A (NPA) patients, undergo lysosomal exocytosis after wounding but are defective in injury-dependent endocytosis and plasma membrane repair. Exogenously added recombinant human ASM restores endocytosis and resealing in ASM-depleted cells, suggesting that conversion of plasma membrane sphingomyelin to ceramide by this lysosomal enzyme promotes lesion internalization. These findings reveal a molecular mechanism for restoration of plasma membrane integrity through exocytosis of lysosomes and identify defective plasma membrane repair as a possible component of the severe pathology observed in NPA patients.

The role of local protein synthesis and degradation in axon regeneration

In axotomised regenerating axons, the first step toward successful regeneration is the formation of a growth cone. This requires a variety of dynamic morphological and biochemical changes in the axon, including the appearance of many new cytoskeletal, cell surface and signalling molecules. These changes suggest the activation of coordinated complex cellular processes. A recent development has been the demonstration that the regenerative ability of some axons depends on their capacity to locally synthesise new proteins and degrade others at the injury site autonomously from the cell body. There are also events involving the degradation of cytoskeletal and other molecules, and activation of signalling pathways, with axotomy-induced calcium changes probably being an initiating event. A future challenge will be to understand how this complex network of processes interacts in order to find therapeutic ways of promoting the regeneration of CNS axons.

Fetuin A stabilizes m-calpain and facilitates plasma membrane repair

Yeast two-hybrid experiments identified alpha(2)-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein (human fetuin A) as a binding partner for calpain domain III (DIII). The tandem DIIIs of calpain-10 interacted under the most selective culture conditions, but DIIIs of m-calpain, calpain-3, and calpain-5 also interacted under less stringent selection. DIIIs of mu-calpain, calpain-6, and the tandem DIII-like domains of the Dictyostelium Cpl protein did not interact with alpha(2)-Heremans-Schmid glycoprotein in the yeast two-hybrid system. Bovine fetuin A stabilized proteolytic activity of purified m-calpain incubated in the presence of mm calcium chloride and prevented calcium-dependent m-calpain aggregation. Consistent with the yeast two-hybrid studies, fetuin A neither stabilized mu-calpain nor prevented its aggregation. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy of scratch-damaged L6 myotubes demonstrated accumulation of m-calpain at the wound site in association with the membrane repair protein, dysferlin. m-Calpain also co-localized with fluorescein-labeled fetuin A at the wound site. The effect of fetuin A on calpain-mediated plasma membrane resealing was investigated using fibroblasts from Capns1(-/-) and Capns1(+/+) mouse embryos. Capns1 encodes the small noncatalytic subunit that is required for the proteolytic function of m- and mu-calpains. Thus, Capns1(-/-) fibroblasts do not express these calpains in active form. Fetuin A increased resealing of scrape-damaged wild-type fibroblasts but not Capns1(-/-) fibroblasts. These studies identify fetuin A as a potential extracellular regulator of m-calpain at nascent sites of plasma membrane wounding.

Dysferlin in Membrane Trafficking and Patch Repair

The muscular dystrophies are a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders, defined by progressive muscle weakness and atrophy. Following the discovery of dystrophin, remarkable progress has been made in defining the molecular properties of proteins involved in the various dystrophies. This has underlined the importance of the dystrophin-associated protein complex as a cell membrane scaffold, providing structural stability to muscle cells (McNeil PL, Khakee R. Disruptions of muscle fiber plasma membranes. Role in exercise-induced damage. Am J Pathol 1992;140:1097-1109). While the dystrophies linked to loss of function of dystrophin and its associated proteins are caused by diminished membrane integrity, it is now believed that a new class of dystrophies arises because of a diminished capacity for rapid muscle membrane repair after injury. Dysferlin is the first identified member of a putative muscle-specific repair complex that permits rapid resealing of membranes disrupted by mechanical stress. Membrane resealing is a function conserved by most cells and is mediated by a mechanism closely resembling regulated, Ca2+-dependent exocytosis. A primary role for dysferlin in this pathway, as a Ca2+-regulated fusogen, has been suggested, and a number of candidate partner proteins have been identified. This review outlines the current understanding of the role of dysferlin in membrane repair and the evolving picture of dysferlin-related signaling pathways in muscle cell physiology and pathology.

Calpain is required for the rapid, calcium-dependent repair of wounded plasma membrane

Mammalian cells require extracellular calcium ion to undergo rapid plasma membrane repair seconds after mechanical damage. Utilizing transformed fibroblasts from calpain small subunit knock-out (Capns1-/-) mouse embryos, we now show that the heterodimeric, typical subclass of calpains is required for calcium-mediated survival after plasma membrane damage caused by scraping a cell monolayer. Survival of scrape-damaged Capns1-/- cells was unaffected by calcium in the scraping medium, whereas more Capns1+/+ cells survived when calcium was present. Calcium-mediated survival was increased when Capns1-/- cells were scraped in the presence of purified m- or mu-calpain. Survival rates of scraped Capns1+/+, HFL-1, or Chinese hamster ovary cells were decreased by the calpain inhibitor, calpeptin, or the highly specific calpain inhibitor protein, calpastatin. Capns1-/- cells failed to reseal following laser-induced membrane disruption, demonstrating that their decreased survival after scraping resulted, at least in part, from failed membrane repair. Proteomic and immunologic analyses demonstrated that the known calpain substrates talin and vimentin were exposed at the cell surface and processed by calpain following cell scraping. Autoproteolytic activation of calpain at the scrape site was evident at the earliest time point analyzed and appeared to precede proteolysis of talin and vimentin. The results indicate that conventional calpains are required for calcium-facilitated survival after plasma membrane damage and may act by localized remodeling of the cortical cytoskeleton at the injury site.

Mechanoporation induced by diffuse traumatic brain injury: an irreversible or reversible response to injury?

Diffuse traumatic brain injury (DTBI) is associated with neuronal plasmalemmal disruption, leading to either necrosis or reactive change without cell death. This study examined whether enduring membrane perturbation consistently occurs, leading to cell death, or if there is the potential for transient perturbation followed by resealing/recovery. We also examined the relationship of these events to calpain-mediated spectrin proteolysis (CMSP). To assess plasmalemmal disruption, rats (n = 21) received intracerebroventricular infusion 2 h before DTBI of a normally excluded 10 kDa fluorophore-labeled dextran. To reveal plasmalemmal resealing or enduring disruption, rats were infused with another labeled dextran 2 h (n = 10) or 6 h (n = 11) after injury. Immunohistochemistry for the 150 kDa spectrin breakdown product evaluated the concomitant role of CMSP. Neocortical neurons were followed with confocal and electron microscopy. After DTBI at 4 and 8 h, 55% of all tracer-flooded neurons contained both dextrans, demonstrating enduring plasmalemmal leakage, with many demonstrating necrosis. At 4 h, 12.0% and at 8 h, 15.7% of the dual tracer-flooded neurons showed CMSP, yet, these demonstrated less advanced cellular change. At 4 h, 39.0% and at 8 h, 24.4% of all tracer-flooded neurons revealed only preinjury dextran uptake, consistent with membrane resealing, whereas 7.6 and 11.1%, respectively, showed CMSP. At 4 h, 35% and at 8 h, 33% of neurons demonstrated CMSP without dextran flooding. At 4 h, 5.5% and at 8 h, 20.9% of tracer-flooded neurons revealed only postinjury dextran uptake, consistent with delayed membrane perturbation, with 55.0 and 35.4%, respectively, showing CMSP. These studies illustrate that DTBI evokes evolving plasmalemmal changes that highlight mechanical and potential secondary events in membrane poration.

Isolation of neuronal substructures and precise neural microdissection using a nanocutting device

We describe a set of microfabricated nanocutting devices with a cutting edge of less than 20 nm radius of curvature that enables high precision microdissection and subcellular isolation of neuronal structures. With these devices, it is possible to isolate functional substructures from neurons in culture such as segments of axons and dendrites, dendritic spines and Nodes of Ranvier. By fine-tuning the mechanical compliance of these devices, they can also act as alternatives to costly laser capture microdissection workstations for harvesting specific neuronal populations from tissue sections for analysis. The small size of the device (1 mm2x100 microm) allows convenient insertion into researcher specific experimental set-ups. Its ease of use and possibility for batch fabrication makes this a highly effective and versatile tool for tissue microdissection and the microanalysis of neuronal function.

Acute physiological response of mammalian central neurons to axotomy: ionic regulation and electrical activity

The transection of the axon of central neurons has dramatic consequences on the damaged cells and nerves. Injury activates molecular programs leading to a complex repertoire of responses that, depending on the cellular context, include activation of sprouting, axonal degeneration, and cell death. Although the cellular mechanisms started at the time of lesion are likely to shape the changes affecting injured cells, the acute physiological reaction to trauma of mammalian central neurons is not completely understood yet. To characterize the physiology of the acute response to axonal transection, we have developed a model of in vitro axotomy of neurons cultured from the rodent cortex. Imaging showed that axotomy caused an increase of calcium in the soma and axon. Propagation of the response to the soma required the activation of voltage-dependent sodium channels, since it was blocked by tetrodotoxin. The electrophysiological response to axotomy was recorded in patched neurons kept in the current clamp configuration: injury was followed by vigorous spiking activity that caused a sodium load and the activation of transient calcium currents that were opened by each action potential. The decrease of the electrochemical gradient of sodium caused inversion of the Na-Ca exchanger that provided an additional mean of entry for calcium. Finally, we determined that inhibition of the physiological response to axotomy hindered the regeneration of a new neurite. These data provide elements of the framework required to link the axotomy itself to the downstream molecular machinery that contributes to the determination of the long-term fate of injured neurons and axons.

Differential Proteomics Reveals Multiple Components in Retrogradely Transported Axoplasm After Nerve Injury

Information on axonal damage is conveyed to neuronal cell bodies by a number of signaling modalities, including the post-translational modification of axoplasmic proteins. Retrograde transport of a subset of such proteins is thought to induce or enhance a regenerative response in the cell body. Here we report the use of a differential 2D-PAGE approach to identify injury-correlated retrogradely transported proteins in nerves of the mollusk Lymnaea. A comprehensive series of gels at different pI ranges allowed resolution of approximately 4000 spots by silver staining, and 172 of these were found to differ between lesioned versus control nerves. Mass spectrometric sequencing of 134 differential spots allowed their assignment to over 40 different proteins, some belonging to a vesicular ensemble blocked by the lesion and others comprising an up-regulated ensemble highly enriched in calpain cleavage products of an intermediate filament termed RGP51 (retrograde protein of 51 kDa). Inhibition of RGP51 expression by RNA interference inhibits regenerative outgrowth of adult Lymnaea neurons in culture. These results implicate regulated proteolysis in the formation of retrograde injury signaling complexes after nerve lesion and suggest that this signaling modality utilizes a wide range of protein components.

Survival of mammalian B104 cells following neurite transection at different locations depends on somal Ca2+ concentration

We report that cell survival after neurite transection in a mammalian neuronal model (cultured B104 cells) critically depends on somal [Ca2+]i, a novel result that reconciles separate long-standing observations that somal survival decreases with more-proximal axonal transections and that increased somal Ca2+ is cytotoxic. Using fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate that extracellular Ca2+ at the site of plasmalemmal transection is necessary to form a plasmalemmal barrier, and that other divalent ions (Ba2+, Mg2+) do not play a major role. We also show that extracellular Ca2+, rather than injury per se, initiates the formation of a plasmalemmal barrier and that a transient increase in somal [Ca2+]i significantly decreases the percentage of cells that survive neurite transection. Furthermore, we show that the increased somal [Ca2+]i and decreased cell survival following proximal transections are not due to less frequent or slower plasmalemmal sealing or Ca2+ entry through plasmalemmal Na+ and Ca2+ channels. Rather, the increased somal [Ca2+]i and lethality of proximal neurite injuries may be due to the decreased path length/increased diameter for Ca2+ entering the transection site to reach the soma. A ryanodine block of Ca2+ release from internal stores before transection has no effect on cell survival; however, a ryanodine- or thapsigargin-induced buildup of somal [Ca2+]i before transection markedly reduces cell survival, suggesting a minor involvement of Ca2+-induced release from internal stores. Finally, we show that cell survival following proximal injuries can be enhanced by increasing intracellular Ca2+ buffering capacity with BAPTA to prevent the increase in somal [Ca2+]i.

Plasma Membrane Disruption: Repair, Prevention, Adaptation

Many metazoan cells inhabit mechanically stressful environments and, consequently, their plasma membranes are frequently disrupted. Survival requires that the cell rapidly repair or reseal the disruption. Rapid resealing is an active and complex structural modification that employs endomembrane as its primary building block, and cytoskeletal and membrane fusion proteins as its catalysts. Endomembrane is delivered to the damaged plasma membrane through exocytosis, a ubiquitous Ca2+-triggered response to disruption. Tissue and cell level architecture prevent disruptions from occurring, either by shielding cells from damaging levels of force, or, when this is not possible, by promoting safe force transmission through the plasma membrane via protein-based cables and linkages. Prevention of disruption also can be a dynamic cell or tissue level adaptation triggered when a damaging level of mechanical stress is imposed. Disease results from failure of either the preventive or resealing mechanisms.

Plasmalemmal sealing of transected mammalian neurites is a gradual process mediated by Ca2+-regulated proteins

Cultured mammalian PC12 or B104 cells do not instantaneously restore a plasmalemmal barrier (seal) after neurite transection, as measured using fluorescent dye probes of various sizes and saline solutions with different [Ca(2+)](o). Rather, transected cells gradually (from 15 to 60 min postseverance) exclude probes (dye molecules) of progressively smaller size. Furthermore, an inhibitor (calpeptin) of a Ca(2+)-activated cysteine protease (calpain) and antibodies or toxins to a Ca(2+)-regulated protein (synaptotagmin) and other membrane fusion proteins (syntaxin and synaptobrevin) inhibit plasmalemmal sealing. These data obtained using molecular probes on mammalian cell lines are consistent with previous data on invertebrate giant axons indicating that Ca(2+) plays many roles in the formation, accumulation, and fusion/interaction of vesicles gradually forming a seal at a site of plasmalemmal damage.

Mechanical injury and repair of cells

OBJECTIVE

To concisely review the field of cell plasma membrane disruption (torn cell surface) and repair.

MAIN POINTS

Plasma membrane disruption is a common form of cell injury under physiologic conditions, after trauma, in certain muscular dystrophies, and during certain forms of clinical intervention. Rapid repair of a disruption is essential to cell survival and involves a complex and active cell response that includes membrane fusion and cytoskeletal activation. Tissues, such as cardiac and skeletal muscle, adapt to a disruption injury by hypertrophying. Cells adapt by increasing the efficiency of their resealing response.

CONCLUSION

Plasma membrane disruption is an important cellular event in both health and disease. The disruption repair mechanism is now well understood at the cellular level, but much remains to be learned at the molecular level. Cell and tissue level adaptational responses to the disruption either prevent its further occurrence or facilitate future repairs. Therapeutically useful drugs might result if, using this accumulating knowledge, chemical agents can be developed that can enhance repair or adaptive responses.

Vesicle-mediated restoration of a plasmalemmal barrier in severed axons

Ca(2+)-induced endocytotic vesicles undergo protein-mediated interactions to restore a selectively permeable barrier and propagated action potentials in severed invertebrate giant axons. Similar barrier-restoration phenomena observed in cultured mammalian cells with transected neurites suggest that cellular/molecular mechanisms that repair plasmalemmal damage are phylogenetically conserved.

Critical calpain-dependent ultrastructural alterations underlie the transformation of an axonal segment into a growth cone after axotomy of cultured Aplysia neurons

The transformation of a stable axonal segment into a motile growth cone is a critical step in the regeneration of amputated axons. In earlier studies we found that axotomy of cultured Aplysia neurons leads to a transient and local elevation of the free intracellular Ca2+ concentration, resulting in calpain activation, localized proteolysis of submembranal spectrin, and, eventually, growth cone formation. Moreover, inhibition of calpain by calpeptin prior to axotomy inhibits growth cone formation. Here we investigated the mechanisms by which calpain activation participates in the transformation of an axonal segment into a growth cone. To that end we compared the ultrastructural alterations induced by axotomy performed under control conditions with those caused by axotomy performed in the presence of calpeptin, using cultured Aplysia neurons as a model. We identified the critical calpain-dependent cytoarchitectural alterations that underlie the formation of a growth cone after axotomy. Calpain-dependent processes lead to restructuring of the neurofilaments and microtubules to form an altered cytoskeletal region 50-150 microm proximal to the tip of the transected axon in which vesicles accumulate. The dense pool of vesicles forms in close proximity to a segment of the plasma membrane along which the spectrin membrane skeleton has been proteolyzed by calpain. We suggest that the rearrangement of the cytoskeleton forms a transient cellular compartment that traps transported vesicles and serves as a locus for microtubule polymerization. We propose that this cytoskeletal configuration facilitates the fusion of vesicles with the plasma membrane, promoting the extension of the growth cone's lamellipodium. The growth process is further supported by the radial polymerization of microtubules from the growth cone's center.

From snails to sciatic nerve: Retrograde injury signaling from axon to soma in lesioned neurons

The cell body of a lesioned neuron must receive accurate and timely information on the site and extent of axonal damage, in order to mount an appropriate response. Specific mechanisms must therefore exist to transmit such information along the length of the axon from the lesion site to the cell body. Three distinct types of signals have been postulated to underlie this process, starting with injury-induced discharge of axon potentials, and continuing with two distinct types of retrogradely transported macromolecular signals. The latter include, on the one hand, an interruption of the normal supply of retrogradely transported trophic factors from the target; and on the other hand activated proteins emanating from the injury site. These activated proteins are termed "positive injury signals", and are thought to be endogenous axoplasmic proteins that undergo post-translational modifications at the lesion site upon axotomy, which then target them to the retrograde transport system for trafficking to the cell body. Here, we summarize the work to date supporting the positive retrograde injury signal hypothesis, and provide some new and emerging proteomic data on the system. We propose that the retrograde positive injury signals form part of a complex that is assembled by a combination of different processes, including post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, regulated and transient proteolysis, and local axonal protein synthesis.