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Local Protein Synthesis in Axonal Growth Cones: What Is Next?

Saulius Satkauskas and Dominique Bagnard

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While initially thought to be essentially a developmental characteristic, observed in artificial in vitro models, local protein synthesis in growth cones has been described in the adult, and more interestingly, during nerve regeneration. This emerging field is under intense investigation, revealing new functions of localized protein synthesis that include axon guidance, growth cone adaptation and sensitivity modulation at intermediate targets, or axon regeneration. Here, we will review these functions and provide a short survey of the current knowledge on mechanisms of mRNA transport and regulation of localized protein synthesis. In addition, we will consider what lessons can be learned from localized protein synthesis in dendrites, and what developments can be expected next in the field. This latter question relates to the crucial point of which technical strategy to adopt for an ideal and pertinent analysis of the phenomenon.

Authors

Saulius Satkauskas

INSERM U575 Physiopathologie du Système Nerveux, Vytautas Magnus University

Dominique Bagnard

INSERM U575 Physiopathologie du Système Nerveux
Universitè Louis Pasteur

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