Non-centrosomal nucleation mediated by augmin organizes microtubules in post-mitotic neurons and controls axonal microtubule polarity

Carlos Sánchez-Huertas, Francisco Freixo, Ricardo Viais, Cristina Lacasa, Eduardo Soriano and Jens Lüders ()
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Carlos Sánchez-Huertas: Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Francisco Freixo: Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Ricardo Viais: Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Cristina Lacasa: Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology
Eduardo Soriano: Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology and INUB, University of Barcelona
Jens Lüders: Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Neurons display a highly polarized microtubule network that mediates trafficking throughout the extensive cytoplasm and is crucial for neuronal differentiation and function. In newborn migrating neurons, the microtubule network is organized by the centrosome. During neuron maturation, however, the centrosome gradually loses this activity, and how microtubules are organized in more mature neurons remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that microtubule organization in post-mitotic neurons strongly depends on non-centrosomal nucleation mediated by augmin and by the nucleator γTuRC. Disruption of either complex not only reduces microtubule density but also microtubule bundling. These microtubule defects impair neurite formation, interfere with axon specification and growth, and disrupt axonal trafficking. In axons augmin does not merely mediate nucleation of microtubules but ensures their uniform plus end-out orientation. Thus, the augmin-γTuRC module, initially identified in mitotic cells, may be commonly used to generate and maintain microtubule configurations with specific polarity.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12187

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