# Spatial considerations in neuronal survival signals

> **NIH NIH R01** · DANA-FARBER CANCER INST · 2021 · $545,358

## Abstract

A major, unresolved question in neuroscience is how the highly specialized and distinctive axons that
span long-distances are assembled and maintained. We will address these questions as we analyze the
Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) sensory neurons that enable input of tactile information. These neurons exhibit a
distinctive morphology, with a T-shaped axon consisting of a short axon stem that extends from the cell soma,
and connects to a very long peripheral process innervating the skin, and to a central process extending into the
spinal cord. Both the peripheral and central processes have features characteristic of axons, as the
microtubules contain acetylated tubulin and are uniformly oriented with the plus end outwards. This distinctive
morphology of sensory neurons enables rapid and unidirectional transmission of tactile information to the
central nervous system. The broad goal of work proposed here is to determine how this highly specialized and
anatomically distinctive T-shaped axonal structure is assembled and maintained throughout life.
 In recent studies, my colleagues and I demonstrated that SFPQ, an RNA binding protein, enables
axonal localization of several mRNAs critical for maintaining functional axons, and Nerve growth factor (NGF)
stimulation regulates SFPQ functions. Our preliminary results suggest a model wherein SFPQ enables
coordinated KIF5A-mediated transport of specific mRNA cargos from DRGs to peripheral sensory axons; NGF
stimulation dissociates SFPQ from mRNA cargo, initiating translation of proteins essential for maintaining
peripheral axons. We propose that SFPQ:mRNA granules are restricted to the peripheral rather than central
axons, and that this restriction depends on NGF signaling. Our study plan tests three specific predictions of
this model.
 Taken together, the work proposed here will determine how RNA binding proteins and motor proteins
orchestrate morphologic features essential for tactile sensation and will provide new insights into neurologic
disorders that cause axonal degeneration and loss of critical sensory abilities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10145075
- **Project number:** 5R01NS050674-14
- **Recipient organization:** DANA-FARBER CANCER INST
- **Principal Investigator:** ROSALIND A. SEGAL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $545,358
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2005-08-15 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10145075

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10145075, Spatial considerations in neuronal survival signals (5R01NS050674-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10145075. Licensed CC0.

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