Obiettivo Microtubules (MTs) are one of the major cytoskeletal components of the cell, essential for many fundamental cellular and developmental processes, such as cell division, motility and polarity. In large and highly polarized cells like neurons, MTs have been regarded as essential structures for stable neuronal morphology and serve as tracks for long-distance transport; however, fundamental new insights into the role of neural MTs have emerged. New findings demonstrate that the MT cytoskeleton plays an active role during different phases of neuronal development: MTs determine axon formation, control polarized cargo trafficking, and regulate the dynamics of dendritic spines, the major sites of excitatory synaptic input. Failures in MT function have been linked to various neurological and neurodegenerative diseases and recent studies highlight MTs as a potential target for therapeutic intervention.How neuronal MTs are formed and stabilized during neuronal polarity and differentiation is largely unknown, and whether this requires the centrosome is under debate. The overall aim of this proposal is to investigate basic mechanisms responsible for organizing the microtubule cytoskeleton during neuronal development. Here, we will take a multidisciplinary approach and combine biochemistry, neurobiology, molecular engineering, and advanced microscopy to study the role of MTs at three stages of neuronal differentiation. We propose to determine: i) the role of (non-)centrosomal MT nucleation during early development, ii) the mechanism by which dendrites organize MTs into anti-parallel arrays, iii) the relation between MTs spine entry and cargo transport in mature neurons. We anticipate that these studies will uncover how the MT cytoskeleton is built and organized at different phases of neuronal development, which will be relevant for understanding polarized transport, synaptic processes and associated neurodegenerative disorders. Campo scientifico natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopyengineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesmicrotechnologymolecular engineering Programma(i) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Argomento(i) ERC-CG-2013-LS3 - ERC Consolidator Grant - Cellular and Developmental Biology Invito a presentare proposte ERC-2013-CoG Vedi altri progetti per questo bando Meccanismo di finanziamento ERC-CG - ERC Consolidator Grants Istituzione ospitante UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT Contributo UE € 2 000 000,00 Indirizzo HEIDELBERGLAAN 8 3584 CS Utrecht Paesi Bassi Mostra sulla mappa Regione West-Nederland Utrecht Utrecht Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Ricercatore principale Casper Cassander Hoogenraad (Prof.) Contatto amministrativo Chen-Wu Yeun Yow (Mrs.) Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Costo totale Nessun dato Beneficiari (1) Classifica in ordine alfabetico Classifica per Contributo UE Espandi tutto Riduci tutto UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT Paesi Bassi Contributo UE € 2 000 000,00 Indirizzo HEIDELBERGLAAN 8 3584 CS Utrecht Mostra sulla mappa Regione West-Nederland Utrecht Utrecht Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Ricercatore principale Casper Cassander Hoogenraad (Prof.) Contatto amministrativo Chen-Wu Yeun Yow (Mrs.) Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Costo totale Nessun dato