New Paper Published Implicating Mitochondria in the Delay in Axon Degeneration in Neonatal Mice

A new study from the Murray lab has shown that the degeneration of synapses and axons within young mice occurs slower than in adult mice.

Synapses and axons in young mice degenerate more slowly than in adult mice (as shown in Figure 1). The study from the Murray lab has recently shown that this is due ot the difference in the activity of mitochondria. This has important implications for undertanding normal postnatal development, and for understanding the mechanisms of axonal and synaptic degeneration in disease and following injury.

The paper has been published in Neurobiology of Disease.

Synapses and axons in young mice, Murray Lab — Figure 1: Following injury, synapses and axons from mice aged 26 days or older degenerate rapidly, as evidenced by a large proportion of red endplates with no overlying green pre-synaptic terminals (arrow heads). The rate of this degeneration is much slower in younger mice, as evidenced by the high percentage of red endplates with a corresponding green pre-synaptic terminal. Our recent work shows that this change in the rate of axon degeneration can be attributed to changes in the basal activity of mitochondria.

New Paper Published Implicating Mitochondria in the Delay in Axon Degeneration in Neonatal Mice

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