This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Dent, E. W. Articles by Kalil, K. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dent, E. W. Articles by Kalil, K. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Axon Guidance by Growth Cones and Branches: Common Cytoskeletal and Signaling Mechanisms

Department of Anatomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Fangjun Tang

Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Katherine Kalil

Department of Anatomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison, kakalil{at}facstaff.wisc.edu

Growing axons are guided to appropriate targets by responses of their motile growth cones to environmental cues. Interstitial axon branching is also an important form of axon guidance in the mammalian CNS. Visualization of growing axons in cortical slices and in dissociated cortical cultures showed that growth cone pausing behaviors demarcate sites of future axon branching. Studies of vertebrate and invertebrate growth cones suggest common mechanisms that regulate growth cone behaviors and axon branching. These include reorganization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton, dynamic interactions between microtubules and actin filaments, effects of axon guidance molecules, actions of actin regulatory proteins, and dynamic changes in intracellular calcium signaling. Future challenges will be to extend high-resolution imaging of single neurons to studies of intracellular events in the intact nervous system and to apply knowledge of developmental mechanisms to the promotion of axon sprouting after injury in the adult CNS.

Key Words: Cortical development • Growth cone • Cytoskeleton • Axon branching • Calcium

The Neuroscientist, Vol. 9, No. 5, 343-353 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1073858403252683


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Schmidt, A. Stonkute, R. Juttner, D. Koesling, A. Friebe, and F. G. Rathjen C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is a bifurcation factor for sensory neurons PNAS, September 29, 2009; 106(39): 16847 - 16852. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Manitt, A. M. Nikolakopoulou, D. R. Almario, S. A. Nguyen, and S. Cohen-Cory Netrin Participates in the Development of Retinotectal Synaptic Connectivity by Modulating Axon Arborization and Synapse Formation in the Developing Brain J. Neurosci., September 9, 2009; 29(36): 11065 - 11077. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. Zhao, Z. Wang, Y. Gu, R. Feil, F. Hofmann, and L. Ma Regulate Axon Branching by the Cyclic GMP Pathway via Inhibition of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 in Dorsal Root Ganglion Sensory Neurons J. Neurosci., February 4, 2009; 29(5): 1350 - 1360. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Hu, C. Viesselmann, S. Nam, E. Merriam, and E. W. Dent Activity-Dependent Dynamic Microtubule Invasion of Dendritic Spines J. Neurosci., December 3, 2008; 28(49): 13094 - 13105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Hayano and N. Yamamoto Activity-Dependent Thalamocortical Axon Branching Neuroscientist, August 1, 2008; 14(4): 359 - 368. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Hui, G.-H. Fei, B. J. Saab, J. Su, J. C. Roder, and Z.-P. Feng Neuronal calcium sensor-1 modulation of optimal calcium level for neurite outgrowth Development, December 15, 2007; 134(24): 4479 - 4489. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. L. Gupton and F. B. Gertler Filopodia: The Fingers That Do the Walking Sci. Signal., August 21, 2007; 2007(400): re5 - re5. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Dwivedy, F. B. Gertler, J. Miller, C. E. Holt, and C. Lebrand Ena/VASP function in retinal axons is required for terminal arborization but not pathway navigation Development, June 1, 2007; 134(11): 2137 - 2146. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Kiryushko, V. Novitskaya, V. Soroka, J. Klingelhofer, E. Lukanidin, V. Berezin, and E. Bock Molecular Mechanisms of Ca2+ Signaling in Neurons Induced by the S100A4 Protein. Mol. Cell. Biol., May 1, 2006; 26(9): 3625 - 3638. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. A. Myers, Y. He, T. P. Hasaka, and P. W. Baas Microtubule Transport in the Axon: Re-thinking a Potential Role for the Actin Cytoskeleton Neuroscientist, April 1, 2006; 12(2): 107 - 118. [Abstract] [PDF]

				G. Lalli and A. Hall Ral GTPases regulate neurite branching through GAP-43 and the exocyst complex J. Cell Biol., December 5, 2005; 171(5): 857 - 869. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Gonzalez-Quevedo, M. Shoffer, L. Horng, and A. E. Oro Receptor tyrosine phosphatase-dependent cytoskeletal remodeling by the hedgehog-responsive gene MIM/BEG4 J. Cell Biol., January 31, 2005; 168(3): 453 - 463. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Errico, P. Claudiani, M. D'Addio, and E. I. Rugarli Spastin interacts with the centrosomal protein NA14, and is enriched in the spindle pole, the midbody and the distal axon Hum. Mol. Genet., September 15, 2004; 13(18): 2121 - 2132. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. W. Dent, A. M. Barnes, F. Tang, and K. Kalil Netrin-1 and Semaphorin 3A Promote or Inhibit Cortical Axon Branching, Respectively, by Reorganization of the Cytoskeleton J. Neurosci., March 24, 2004; 24(12): 3002 - 3012. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]