Faculty Book

VANCE LEMMON, Ph.D.
Walter G. Ross Chair in Developmental Neuroscience
Professor of Neurological Surgery

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Function of Cell Adhesion Molecules in Axon Growth and Guidance

Research Interests

The goals in my laboratory fall into two categories:

1. Cells adhere to one another using "cell adhesion molecules", also called CAMs. CAMs are essential for tissue development and cell movement. CAMs are particularly important in the nervous system where they allow nerve cell processes called axons and dendrites to extend long distances and find correct targets. We now know that CAMs are not just sticky but also send signals inside neurons and glial cells. These signals influence cell processes that are essential for proper development and regeneration. My lab has focused for many years on a CAM called L1. It is essential for brain development and proper myelination in peripheral nerves. Without it many axons can not find their correct targets. Recently we have used biochemical approaches, like 2-D gels and mass spectrometry, or molecular biological approaches, like yeast-2-hybrid, to identify molecules that interact with L1. We also conduct experiments to understand how L1-binding proteins work with L1 to promote correct axon growth and guidance. Finally, we study mice with mutations in the L1 gene to better understand how L1 contributes to axon guidance during development and regeneration.
   
2. Many CAMs are important in axon growth. We are using novel molecular biological approaches combined with in vivo screens to search for proteins and compounds that can promote axon growth long distances in the CNS. The goal of this project is to identify novel targets for the promotion of regeneration of axon pathways in the spinal cord.

Lemmon/Bixby Lab Link

Video Introduction

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Selected Publications View all Publications

A.W. Schaefer, Y. Kamei, H. Kamiguchi, E.V. Wong, I. Rapoport, T. Kirchhausen, C.M. Beach, G. Landreth, S.K. Lemmon, V. Lemmon. L1 endocytosis is controlled by a phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cycle stimulated by outside-in signaling by L1. J. Cell Biology, 157: 1223–1232, 2002 [Abstract]

De Angelis, E., Brümmendorf, T., Cheng, L., Lemmon, V., and Kenwrick, S. Alternative Use of a Mini Exon of the L1 Gene Affects L1 Binding to Neural Ligands, J. Biol. Chem., 276 :32738-32742, 2001, J. Biol. Chem., 276 :32738-32742.[Abstract]

Long, K.E., Asou, H., Snider, M.D., Lemmon, V., The role of endocytosis in regulating L1 mediate adhesion. J. Biol. Chem., 276: 1285-1290, 2001 [Abstract]

Kamiguchi, H., Long, K.E., Pendergast, M., Schaefer, A.W., Rapoport, I, Kirchhausen, T., Lemmon, V. The Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule L1 Interacts with the AP-2 Adaptor and Is Endocytosed via the Clathrin-Mediated Pathway. J. Neurosci. 1998 18:5311-5321 [Abstract]

Last updated: August 28, 2003

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