Novel guidance cues during neuronal pathfinding in the early scaffold of axon tracts in the rostral brain.
A scaffold of axons consisting of a pair of longitudinal tracts and several commissures is established during early development of the vertebrate brain. We report here that NOC-2, a cell surface carbohydrate, is selectively expressed by a subpopulation of growing axons in this scaffold in Xenopus. NOC-2 is present on two glycoproteins, one of which is a novel glycoform of the neural cell adhesion molecule N-CAM. When the function of NOC-2 was perturbed using either soluble carbohydrates or anti-NOC-2 antibodies, axons expressing NOC-2 exhibited aberrant growth at specific points in their pathway. NOC-2 is the first-identified axon guidance molecule essential for development of the axon scaffold in the embryonic vertebrate brain.
Anderson
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Neurodevelopment Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville 3052, Australia.
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D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004627:Embryonic Induction; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D037102:Lectins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D014312:Trisaccharides / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006023:Glycoproteins; D037102:Lectins; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules; D014312:Trisaccharides