A new pair of axonal guidance in the adult brain, Gal-1 and Secernin-1.

What is it about?

We found that axonal growth is promoted by overexpression of Gal-1 in primary cultured hippocampal neurons. Moreover, Gal-1 was expressed on the membranes of growth cones in hippocampal neurons and interacted with a novel axonal guidance molecule, Secernin-1, which was secreted from prefrontal cortex (PFC) neurons. Direct binding of extracellular Secernin-1 with Gal-1 was detected through immunoprecipitation and immunocytochemistry, demonstrating that Gal-1 possibly works as an axonal guidance receptor for Secernin-1 in hippocampal neurons. In the PFC, the expression of Gal-1 in axonal shafts and terminals of hippocampal neurons was decreased in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Overexpression of Gal-1 in hippocampal neurons recovered memory deficits and induced axonal regeneration toward the PFC in 5XFAD mice.

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Why is it important?

This study suggests that the enhanced interaction of Secernin-1 and Gal-1 can be harnessed as a therapeutic strategy for long-distance and direction-specific axonal regeneration in Alzheimer's disease.