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Dominique Bagnard
INSERM U575 Physiopathologie du Système Nerveux
Universitè Louis Pasteur

About this book

This book proposes an updated view of the current knowledge of the molecular and cellular mechanisms ensuring axon growth and guidance. The introductory chapter will remind the readers of all the features of a growth cone and the mechanisms controlling its growth. From there, one enters a fabulous journey with a growth cone, a Tom Thumb story filled with molecular encounters and complex interactions leading to one of the most fantastic developmental achievements: the nervous system wiring.
The journey starts with a description of the classical guidance signals such as the netrins, the semaphorins, the ephrins or the Slit family. The question of the exact definition of a guidance signal is addressed in a chapter which discusses whether neurotrophic factors can be considered as guidance cues. This complex question is also considered in a chapter presenting the role of adhesion molecules during axon guidance and the report of compelling evidence for a guidance effect of neurotransmitters. The diversity of the molecular cues used by growth cones to reach their targets is finally illustrated in a chapter describing the unexpected role of morphogenes as direct guidance signals.

Table of contents

1. Molecular Mechanisms of Axonal Growth
Céline Bouquet and Fatiha Nothias

2. Netrins and Their Receptors
Simon W. Moore, Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Timothy E. Kennedy

3. Eph Receptors and Ephrin Ligands in Axon Guidance
Michael Reber, Robert Hindges and Greg Lemke

4. Role of Semaphorins during Axon Growth and Guidance
Eric Koncina, Lise Roth, Bertand Gonthier and Dominique Bagnard

5. Slits and Their Receptors
Alain Chédotal

6. Neurotrophic Factors: Are They Axon Guidance Molecules?
Sarah Guthrie

7. The Role of Cell Adhesion Molecules in Axon Growth and Guidance
Hiroyuki Kamiguchi

8. Neurotransmitters and the Development of Neuronal Circuits
Tina Ruediger and Juergen Bolz

9. The Hedgehog, TGF-b/BMP and Wnt Families of Morphogens
in Axon Guidance
Frédéric Charron and Marc Tessier-Lavigne

10. The Role of Cyclic Nucleotides in Axon Guidance
Michael Piper, Francis van Horck and Christine Holt

11. Membrane Lipid Rafts and Their Role in Axon Guidance
Carmine Guirland and James Q. Zheng

12. The Role of Glial Cells in Axon Guidance, Fasciculation and Targeting
Anabel R. Learte and Alicia Hidalgo