title: Cytoskeletal dynamics and transport in growth cone motility and axon guidance.
abstract: Recent studies indicate the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons are a final common target of many signaling cascades that influence the developing neuron. Regulation of polymer dynamics and transport are crucial for the proper growth cone motility. This review addresses how actin filaments, microtubules, and their associated proteins play crucial roles in growth cone motility, axon outgrowth, and guidance. We present a working model for cytoskeletal regulation of directed axon outgrowth. An important goal for the future will be to understand the coordinated response of the cytoskeleton to signaling cascades induced by guidance receptor activation.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, 68-270, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ewdent@mit.edu
authors.forename: Erik W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Dent
authors.forename: Frank B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Gertler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport / Q000502:physiology; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology*; D020439:Growth Cones / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins