Gap-43 is thought to have an important role in development and plasticity because it is expressed at high levels in neuronal growth cones during development and during axonal regeneration (Benowitz and Routtenberg, 1997). There is also evidence from knockout animals that Gap-43 serves to amplify pathfinding signals from the growth cone (Strittmatter et al., 1995). Gap-43 is thought to mediate at least some of these effects via interaction with actin. Importantly, phosphorylation at Ser41 by protein kinase C (Catalog No. 1609-PKC) modulates the interaction of Gap-43 with actin (He et al., 1997) and may also affect eurotransmitter release during forms of plasticity like LTP (Hulo et al., 2002).
