Skip to main content
. 2011 Mar 31;6(3):e18373. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018373

Figure 2. Wnt5a promotes DA axon elongation and alters neuron complexity during the period of initiation of neurite outgrowth.

Figure 2

(A) Wnt5a recombinant protein promoted TH+ neurite elongation in a dose-responsive manner in mouse E11.5 VM primary cultures. (A') Wnt5a activated Dvl2 in a dose-responsive manner in the SN4741 dopaminergic cell line. Note the mobility shift of the Dvl2 protein with increasing doses of Wnt5a. (B) Photomicrographs illustrating the complexity of DA neurons under control conditions, and (C) following Wnt5a treatment. (D) Wnt5a induced a three-fold increase in total neurite length compared to control. (E) The effect of Wnt5a was specific to the dominant neurite (presumably the DA axon). Wnt5a protein reduced the number of (F) DA neurites and (G) DA neuritic branches per neuron. (H) Immunocytochemistry for TUJ1 revealed that the effects of Wnt5a within the VM were specific to DA neurons, with no change in neurite length observed for other neurons in culture. (I) Compared to control cultures, (J) Wnt5a had no effect on neurite length of TUJ-labeled cells. Cells were analyzed after 3DIV. Scale bar = 25 µm. Data represents mean ± s.e.m., n = 4–5 cultures; * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001.