Stathmin-2 enhances motor axon regeneration after injury independent of its binding to tubulin.
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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
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Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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Volume | 122
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Issue | 21
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Pages | e2502294122
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Date Published | 05/2025
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ISSN | 1091-6490
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DOI | 10.1073/pnas.2502294122
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PubMed ID | 40392845
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