IDENTIFICATION OF A DEVELOPMENTALLY-REGULATED PATHWAY OF MEMBRANE RETRIEVAL IN NEURONAL GROWTH CONES

摘要

During axon navigation and upon target recognition the growth cone plasma membrane is constantly reconfigured as a result of changes in cytoskeletal and membrane dynamics. The identity and regulation of the membrane pathway(s) participating in remodeling of the growth cone surface remain elusive. Here, we identify a constitutive, high capacity plasma membrane recycling activity in the axonal growth cones which is mediated by a novel bulk endocytic pathway mechanistically related to macropinocytosis. This pathway, involving large compartments distributed at sites of intense actin-based membrane ruffling, requires phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, the small GTPase Rac1 and the pinocytic chaperone Pincher. At early developmental stages, the synaptic vesicle and classical endosomal recycling pathways do not participate in the rapid retrieval of the growth cone plasma membrane. At later stages, during the onset of synaptogenesis, an intrinsic program of maturation leads to downregulation of basal bulk endocytosis and the emergence of depolarization-induced synaptic vesicle exo-endocytosis. We propose that the control of bulk membrane retrieval contributes to the homeostatic regulation of the axonal plasma membrane and growth cone remodeling during axonal outgrowth. In addition, we suggest that the downregulation of bulk endocytosis during synaptogenesis might contribute to the preservation of synaptic vesicle specificity.