Date of Award

1-1-2012

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Content Description

1 online resource (xvi, 184 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Ben G Szaro

Committee Members

John Schmidt, Albert Millis, Min-Ho Lee

Keywords

axonogenesis, CNS regeneration, cytoskeleton, hnRNP K, optic nerve, post-transcriptional regulation, Axons, RNA-protein interactions, Nervous system, Genetic regulation, Genetic transcription, Xenopus laevis

Subject Categories

Biology | Developmental Biology | Neuroscience and Neurobiology

Abstract

Coordinated synthesis and assembly of the cytoskeletal network contribute significantly to morphological changes during axon outgrowth. Previous studies demonstrated that heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K), an RNA binding protein, binds to the 3'-untranslated regions of all neurofilament triplet subunits, the most abundant components of the axonal cytoskeleton. These findings raised the hypothesis that hnRNP K post-transcriptionally mediates the coordinated expression of axonal cytoskeletal components. In my thesis, I test this hypothesis during both axonal development and regeneration.

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