Keywords :
Animals; Base Sequence; Cell Differentiation/physiology; Cell Polarity/drug effects/physiology; Cells, Cultured; GTP Phosphohydrolases/genetics/physiology; Hippocampus/cytology; Molecular Sequence Data; Neurons/physiology; RNA Interference; Rats; Transfection; cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein/metabolism
Abstract :
[en] Neurons are probably the most highly polarized cell type and typically develop a single axon and several dendrites. The establishment of a polarized morphology and the functional specialization of axonal and dendritic compartments are essential steps in the differentiation of neurons. Primary cultures of dissociated hippocampal neurons are a widely used system to study the development of neuronal differentiation. In this article, we will describe gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches that allow us to analyze the role of GTPases in neuronal differentiation.
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