Transport of mitochondria during axonogenesis

The cellular mechanisms involved in axonogenesis are still unclear, In the present work we found that formation of neurites in cultured neonatal dorsa l root ganglion neurons co-incided with the redistribution of highly charge d mitochondria, Radially distributed in subplasmalemmal space 3 h after pla ting, highly charged mitochondria formed clusters in the hillocks of predom inant neurites during the nest 24-48 h and then redistributed into the axon s, These results provide evidence that accumulation of a critical mass of c harged mitochondria at the site of the future axonal hillock may represent the slow initiation stage of axonogenesis, followed by a fast growth phase.