Featured Review Cellscience Reviews Vol 4 No 4 ISSN 1742-8130

Adaptation Mechanisms in Long-range Growth Cone Guidance

Precise neuronal network wiring during early development paves the foundation for proper brain function and is achieved by chemotropic guidance. The neuronal growth cone is a specialized structure found at the leading edge of the neurite which detects external stimuli. Many guidance molecules have been shown to present as gradients working over long distances to influence the orientation of neuronal growth cones. As a sensor, neuronal growth cones can detect very small differences in the concentration of either attractive or repulsive guidance molecules, yet they are able to re-adjust their sensitivity over a wide range of concentrations of guidance factors through adaptation. As for chemotaxis in bacteria and other migrating organisms, adaptation is a fundamental mechanism for growth cones to achieve reliable directed movements over long distances. Investigation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying adaptation will enhance our basic understanding of the wiring of the nervous system during development, and may also shed light onto the development of therapeutic strategies for axon regeneration after injury to re-establish functional circuitry.

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