FIGURE 7:

Knockdown of LASP1 reduces growth cone protrusion and branch formation in cultured hippocampal neurons. (A) Montages of representative growth cones from DIV5 rat hippocampal neurons expressing Vector control, shLASP1a, or shLASP1b. Montage slices represent 40-min intervals. Scale bar: 40 µm. (B) Graph of growth cone speed (left) and persistence (right). Persistence index represents a ratio of growth cone displacement to total distance traveled. Growth cone speed and persistence are reduced in the absence of LASP1. (C) Graphs of dynamic axon branch formation/elimination (left), and lifetime (right) across all three conditions. Loss of LASP1 causes reduced branch formation and elimination, with no significant effect on the lifetime of new branches. Error bars represent standard error. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.005; ***p < 0.001 by one way ANOVA Tukey HSD post-hoc test. Experiments represent three independent culture replicates. (See Supplemental Tables 3 and 4 for exact n and p values).