Material below summarizes the article The mTOR Substrate S6 Kinase 1 (S6K1) Is a Negative Regulator of Axon Regeneration and a Potential Drug Target for Central Nervous System Injury, published on June 16, 2017, in JNeurosci and authored by Hassan Al-Ali, Ying Ding, Tatiana Slepak, Wei Wu, Yan Sun, Yania Martinez, Xiao-Ming Xu, Vance P. Lemmon, and John L. Bixby.
Neurons of the adult central nervous system (CNS) are often incapable of regenerating their long processes (axons).
These axons connect distant areas within the brain and spinal cord, allowing communication within the CNS and from the CNS to the rest of the body. Without regeneration, injuries that sever these axons can permanently damage sensation, movement, and other critical functions.
In this study, we used a novel computational approach to identify a set of signaling proteins called kinases that work together within neurons to “apply the brakes” on axon growth. Surprisingly, one of the kinases we identified as an inhibitory brake, S6 kinase (S6K), was previously thought to serve the exact opposite function as an accelerator of axon growth.
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