Sugar residues regulate growth and survival of nerve cells RUB researchers exami

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Sugar residues regulate growth and survival of nerve cells

http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2011/pm00041.html.en

RUB researchers examine interaction of cells and extracellular matrix

Researchers in Bochum have found out that certain sugar residues in the spinal

cord regulate the growth and survival of nerve cells which control the movement

of muscles. " We hope that our findings can improve regenerative treatment of

nerve injuries " , explains Prof. Dr. Stefan Wiese from the Molecular Cell Biology

study group (Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology). The researchers report on

these sugar residues in the environment of the cells, which is called the

extracellular matrix, in the Journal of Neuroscience Research.

The vision of healing nerves

Brain and spinal cord comprise more than just nerve cells. The extracellular

matrix, a complex scaffold of proteins with sugar residues, surrounds the cells

and influences their well-being. Prof. Wiese's team is interested in the

interaction of the matrix with a specific kind of nerve cells, which transmit

signals from the brain to muscles (motoneurons). Because injured motoneurons

lead to paralysis, clinicians have great interest in being able to influence the

growth of these cells. " If we had a medication that could change the

extracellular matrix so that it favours the growth and survival of nerve cells,

that would be a large step in the treatment of nerve injuries after accidents or

also for the treatment of diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis " , says Prof.

Wiese.

Growing muscle-controlling nerve cells

In cooperation with Prof. Dr. s Faissner (Chair of Cell Morphology &

Molecular Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology), Dr. Alice

Klausmeyer from Prof. Wiese's team cultivated motoneurons from the spinal cord

of mice on various kinds of extracellular matrix, from which the researchers

experimentally removed certain sugar residues (chondroitin sulfates). By

comparing the cell cultures with and without sugar residues, they were able to

show that the residues control the growth and survival of the

motoneurons.

Staining, counting and measuring

To express the growth of the cells in understandable figures, the cell

biologists in Bochum measured the longest process of the motoneurons under a

microscope and counted the number of processes which the cells had formed. With

the help of the processes, the cells communicate and transmit signals across

large distances. Some of the chondroitin sulfate sugar residues examined had a

positive effect on the length and number of the processes, others had an

inhibiting influence. The question of whether the growth of the nerve cells was

supported or inhibited also depended on the kind of extracellular matrix with

which a certain sugar residue was combined. Furthermore, the researchers stained

for an enzyme in the motoneurons which is a marker for cell death. This analysis

showed that the chondroitin sulfate sugar residues not only regulate the growth

of the motoneurons, but can also lead to survival of these cells. The

experiments performed by Dr. Klausmeyer and her colleagues were supported,

amongst other things, by the RUB Rector's Office programme for start-up funding

of research projects of the next scientific generation.

Title

Klausmeyer, A., Conrad, R., Faissner, A., Wiese, S.: Influence of glial-derived

matrix molecules, especially chondroitin sulfates, on neurite growth and

survival of cultured mouse embryonic motoneurons. In: J. Neurosci. Res.

89:127-41 (2011). DOI: 10.1002/jnr.22531