Motor Axon Pathfinding

  1. Samuel L. Pfaff
  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gene Expression Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037
  1. Correspondence: Pfaff{at}salk.edu

Abstract

Motor neurons are functionally related, but represent a diverse collection of cells that show strict preferences for specific axon pathways during embryonic development. In this article, we describe the ligands and receptors that guide motor axons as they extend toward their peripheral muscle targets. Motor neurons share similar guidance molecules with many other neuronal types, thus one challenge in the field of axon guidance has been to understand how the vast complexity of brain connections can be established with a relatively small number of factors. In the context of motor guidance, we highlight some of the temporal and spatial mechanisms used to optimize the fidelity of pathfinding and increase the functional diversity of the signaling proteins.

Footnotes

  • Editors: Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Alex L. Kolodkin

  • Additional Perspectives on Neuronal Guidance available at www.cshperspectives.org



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      1. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 2: a001735 Copyright © 2010 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved

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