α 1 -Tubulin Expression in Proximally Axotomized Mouse Cortical Neurons

Abstract

This paper further characterizes the response to axotomy of mouse transcallosal cortical neurons, a population of neurons that seems to be particularly refractory to regeneration. Mouse transcallosal cortical neurons did not upregulate mRNA for the growth-associated protein α₁-tubulin following axotomy, even when the axonal distance from injury to cell body was only 100–300 μm. Previous experiments had found no upregulation of another growth-associated protein, GAP-43, by transcallosal neurons following axotomy 1–2 mm from the cell body. These latest results establish that this population of neurons fails to respond to axotomy even when it is extremely proximal and that this failure is not a peculiarity specific to one growth-associated protein but is indicative of a generally poor regenerative response.