This project is for Collaborative Research at Undergraduate Institutions, involving biology, chemistry and physical optics. When the nervous system grows during development, one of the key events is the extension of long processes called neurites from individual nerve cell bodies; these neurites connect cells to their targets (other nerve cells, muscles, or glands) that may be long distances away in the adult. There are various barriers between tissues in the body, and one of these is called extracellular matrix, or ECM, which is largely made of proteils. It is believed that the growing tip of neurites secrete an enzyme that is a proteinase, to locally break down the ECM and allow the neurites to penetrate it. This project utilizes novel fluorescent dyes and time-lapse microscopic imaging techniques to examine the localization of a particular metallo-proteinase, degradation of the matrix, and intracellular traffic carrying the proteins. The project is designed to reveal for the first time the dynamics of molecules believed to be integral to mechanisms for neurite elongation. Results will have an impact on developmental biology, cell biology and imaging technology, and the project provides a novel multidisciplinary experience involving undergraduates in exciting research over an unusual range of techniques from biochemistry to optics.
