This is just a logical extension of guidance systems that take things where we want them to go.
In particular, type IIa RPTP family members have recently been highlighted as hubs for extracellular interactions in neurons, regulating neuronal extension and guidance, as well as synaptic organisation.
It is known that axon extension and guidance require a coordinated assembly of F-actin and microtubules.
In the nervous system, PI3K activity contributes to the establishment of appropriate connectivity by regulating various cellular processes, including neuronal differentiation, survival, migration, extension and guidance [2] [5].
Here, we report that expression of p110δ PisK is highly enriched in the embryonic nervous system in the mouse at stages concomitant with the extension and guidance of neuronal processes.
One group of molecules involved in the extension and guidance of neuronal processes are growth factors known as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs).
As the growth cone is important in neurite extension and guidance, we examined growth cone morphology in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures.
Because the M1 axon defects showed incomplete penetrance in all situations that we examined (with the exception of unc-119 ), M1 axon extension and guidance may involve novel genes.
Analysis of the gene expression data sets with the Ingenuity Pathways Analysis software (Ingenuity Systems, Redwood City, CA), revealed a network of subplate-specific genes regulated by beta-estradiol (estrogen) signaling (Supplemental Fig. 4), which included multiple genes likely to be involved in neurite extension and guidance (Dscam, Sez6, Cdh11, Ccl25, Nell2).
UNC-53 (NAV2) is a cytoskeletal binding protein related to the mammalian Neuronal Navigators (NAVs) and in unc-53 mutants axon extension and guidance are defective (Hekimi and Kershaw, 1993; Schmidt et al., 2009; Stringham et al., 2002; Stringham and Schmidt, 2009).
