Contacts between the commissural axons and the floor plate cells are mediated by nectins.
During development of the central nervous system (CNS), commissural axons grow toward the ventral midline. After crossing the floor plate, they abruptly change their trajectory from the circumferential to the longitudinal axis. The contacts between the commissural axons and the floor plate cells are involved in this axonal guidance, but their mechanisms or structures have not fully been understood. In this study, we found that nectin-1 and -3, immunoglobulin-like cell-cell adhesion molecules, asymmetrically localized at the contact sites between the commissural axons and the floor plate cells, respectively. In vitro perturbation of the endogenous trans-interaction between nectin-1 and -3 caused abnormal fasciculation of the commissural axons and impairment of the contacts, and resulted in failure in longitudinal turns of the commissural axons at the contralateral sites of the rat hindbrain. These results indicate that the contacts between the commissural axons and the floor plate cells are mediated by the hetero-trans-interaction between nectin-1 and -3 and involved in regulation of the trajectory of the commissural axons.
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine/Faculty of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
Noriko
N
Okabe
Kazuya
K
Shimizu
Kumi
K
Ozaki-Kuroda
Hiroyuki
H
Nakanishi
Koji
K
Morimoto
Masakazu
M
Takeuchi
Hironobu
H
Katsumaru
Fujio
F
Murakami
Yoshimi
Y
Takai
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002450:Cell Communication; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D016547:Kinesins; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D009218:Myosins; D000075983:Nectins; D011247:Pregnancy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
C490657:Afdn protein, mouse; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; C000619015:Nectin1 protein, mouse; D000075983:Nectins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C108835:afadin; D009218:Myosins; D016547:Kinesins