Friedrich Propst Lab

Cytoskeleton regulation in morphogenesis and axon guidance
 
Axon extension, axon branching, and axon retraction are major morphological changes that neurons have to execute to accomplish correct wiring of the nervous system during development and during regeneration after injury. These transformations are guided by extracellular signals which ultimately need to be translated into the rearrangement of the neuronal cytoskeleton. We study signalling mechanisms and posttranslational modifications of microtubule-associated proteins and other components of the cytoskeleton that regulate the orchestrated reorganisation of microtubules and actin in response to extracellular signals. Our approach combines gene ablation in the mouse with cell biological and molecular analyses in cultured neurons and other primary cells.