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Is thyroxine a regulatory signal for neurotubule assembly during brain development?

Nature volume 266, pages 188–190 (1977)Cite this article

Abstract

TUBULIN, the basic subunit of microtubules1, may be assembled, in vitro directly from crude brain supernatants to microtubule-like structures2,3. We have used this methodology to measure the initial rate of assembly in vitro in crude brain supernatants prepared from rats of different ages. Previous results4,5 provided clear evidence that at a late foetal stage or just after birth the concentration of tubulin in the brain is not the rate limiting factor for microtubule assembly. We assumed therefore that a factor other than tubulin is necessary to initiate the assembly process and that this factor is limiting in young brain. On the other hand, brain maturation is a slow post-natal process in the rat and it is generally believed that this process is under thyroid hormone control. We report here that microtubule formation during brain development requires the presence of an initiation factor and that the onset of this factor is under thyroid hormone control.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Recherche Thyroide et Régulation, Hormonale, INSERM, 94270, Bicetre, France

    JACQUES FRANCON, ARLETTE FELLOUS, ANNE-MARIE LENNON & JACQUES NUNEZ

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  1. JACQUES FRANCON
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  2. ARLETTE FELLOUS
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  4. JACQUES NUNEZ
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FRANCON, J., FELLOUS, A., LENNON, AM. et al. Is thyroxine a regulatory signal for neurotubule assembly during brain development?. Nature 266, 188–190 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/266188a0

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