Stathmin-2 enhances motor axon regeneration after injury independent of its binding to tubulin.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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Abstract

Stathmin-2 (also known as ) is encoded by the gene, whose mRNA is one of the most abundantly expressed in human motor neurons. In almost all instances of ALS and other TDP-43 proteinopathies, stathmin-2 encoding mRNAs are cryptically spliced and polyadenylated in motor neurons, a pathogenic consequence of nuclear loss of function of the RNA binding protein TDP-43. While stathmin-2 has been shown to enhance regeneration after axonal injury to axons of cultured motor neurons, here, we show that after crush injury within the adult murine nervous system of wild-type or stathmin-2-null mice, the presence of stathmin-2 reduces axonal and neuromuscular junction degeneration and stimulates reinnervation and functional recovery. Mechanistically, although stathmin-2 has been proposed to function through direct binding to α/β tubulin heterodimers and correspondingly to affect microtubule assembly and dynamics, stathmin-2's role in axon regeneration after axotomy is shown to be independent of its tubulin binding abilities.

Year of Publication
2025
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume
122
Issue
21
Pages
e2502294122
Date Published
05/2025
ISSN
1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2502294122
PubMed ID
40392845
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