On the Role of Vesicle Transport in Neurite Growth: Modelling and Experiments

The processes that determine the establishment of the complex morphology of neurons during development are still poorly understood. We present experiments that use live imaging to examine the role of vesicle transport and propose a lattice-based model that shows symmetry breaking features similar to a neuron during its polarization. In a otherwise symmetric situation our model predicts that a difference in neurite length increases the growth potential of the longer neurite indicating that vesicle transport can be regarded as a major factor in neurite growth.