EMBRYONIC NEURONAL GROWTH GUIDED BY SMALL NUMBER OF PROTEINS
February 15, 2012 In an effort to understand how growing motor neurons migrate successfully toward their eventual muscular targets during embryonic development, a team of researchers led by Sam Pfaff of the Salk Institute has discovered that this highly specific process appears to be guided by just a small number of genes and the corresponding proteins they encode. These proteins somehow attract or repel the axon of the growing neuron, thereby guiding the neuron in the direction in which it should grow, and dictating whether this growth should continue or stop. According to Pfaff:
"We focused on motor neurons that control muscle movements, but the same kind of thing is going on throughout embryonic development of the entire nervous system, during which millions of axons make trillions of decisions as they move to their targets".
It is hoped that these findings may lead to a better understanding of ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by defective nerve cell functioning, and potentially of various cancers as well.