Dorothee Neukirchen

TL;DR: Lifeact, a 17-amino-acid peptide, is described, which stained filamentous actin (F-actin) structures in eukaryotic cells and tissues and in its chemically modified peptide form allowed visualization of actin dynamics in nontransfectable cells.

TL;DR: Local microtubule stabilization in one neurite is a physiological signal specifying neuronal polarization, and local stabilization of microtubules using a photoactivatable analogue of taxol induces axon formation from the activated area.

TL;DR: It is concluded that Cdc42 is a key regulator of axon specification, and cofilin is a physiological downstream effector of CDC42 in this process, and that cofil in was enriched in the axonal growth cones of wild-type, but not of mutant, neurons.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that augmented actin retrograde flow and protrusion dynamics facilitate neurite formation and indicates that a single family of actin regulatory proteins, ADF/Cofilin, provides the required control ofActin retrogrades flow and dynamics to form neurites.

TL;DR: It is proposed that Rac1 recruits the WAVE complex to the plasma membrane to enable actin remodeling necessary for axon growth, and this work generated a conditional knock-out mouse in which Rac1 is ablated in the whole brain.