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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Use of Primary Cultured Hippocampal Neurons to Study the Assembly of Axon Initial Segments
Published on: February 12, 2021
The axon initial segment and the maintenance of neuronal polarity
1Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. Rasband@bcm.edu
Abstract:
Ion channel clustering at the axon initial segment (AIS) and nodes of Ranvier has been suggested to be a key evolutionary innovation that enabled the development of the complex vertebrate nervous system. This innovation epitomizes a signature feature of neurons, namely polarity. The mechanisms that establish neuronal polarity, channel clustering and axon-dendrite identity during development are becoming clearer. However, much less is known about how polarity is maintained throughout life. Here, I review the role of the AIS in the development and maintenance of neuronal polarity and discuss how disrupted polarity may be a common component of many diseases and injuries that affect the nervous system.
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