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Updated: Apr 30, 2026

Morphological and Functional Evaluation of Axons and their Synapses during Axon Death in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: March 16, 2020
Diverse cellular and molecular modes of axon degeneration
Lukas J Neukomm1, Marc R Freeman1
1Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 704 LRB, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01609, USA.
Abstract:
The elimination of large portions of axons is a widespread event in the developing and diseased nervous system. Subsets of axons are selectively destroyed to help fine-tune neural circuit connectivity during development. Axonal degeneration is also an early feature of nearly all neurodegenerative diseases, occurs after most neural injuries, and is a primary driver of functional impairment in patients. In this review we discuss the diversity of cellular mechanisms by which axons degenerate. Initial molecular characterization highlights some similarities in their execution but also argues that unique genetic programs modulate each mode of degeneration. Defining these pathways rigorously will provide new targets for therapeutic intervention after neural injury or in neurodegenerative disease.
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