Shh goes multidirectional in axon guidance

• 来源期刊: 细胞研究（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2012,（4）
• 页码范围: 611-613
• 页数: 3页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1038/cr.2011.187

摘要

Shh and Wnts,secreted by the floor and roof plate of the spinal cord,direct longitudinal growth of the axons from the adjacent ventral funiculus and cortico-spinal tract.Whether these midline cues influencethe directionality of axons elongating in more lateral positions of the spinal cord is unexplored.Song and colleagues investigate this possibility and demonstrate that the location of descending raphe-spinal tract in the ventrolateral spinal cord is dictated by the simultaneous repellent activity of Shh gradients in both the anteriorto-posterior (A-P) and medial-tolateral (M-L) axis. The spinal cord is the main pathway for exchange of information between the brain and the rest of the body.Sensory information collected in the body periphery is conveyed to the brain by axonal tracts that ascend along the spinal cord whereas motor information travels from the brain to the periphery in descending tracts.Precise spatial organization of these fiber tracts is thus essential for animal behavior and survival.