title: Commissural axonal corridors instruct neuronal migration in the mouse spinal cord.
abstract: Unravelling how neurons are guided during vertebrate embryonic development has wide implications for understanding the assembly of the nervous system. During embryogenesis, migration of neuronal cell bodies and axons occurs simultaneously, but to what degree they influence each other's development remains obscure. We show here that within the mouse embryonic spinal cord, commissural axons bisect, delimit or preconfigure ventral interneuron cell body position. Furthermore, genetic disruption of commissural axons results in abnormal ventral interneuron cell body positioning. These data suggest that commissural axonal fascicles instruct cell body position by acting either as border landmarks (axon-restricted migration), which to our knowledge has not been previously addressed, or acting as cellular guides. This study in the developing spinal cord highlights an important function for the interaction of cell bodies and axons, and provides a conceptual proof of principle that is likely to have overarching implications for the development of neuronal architecture.
authors.affiliation: Umeå Center for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Building 6M, Umeå 901-87, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laumonnerie
authors.affiliation: Umeå Center for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Building 6M, Umeå 901-87, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yong Guang
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Umeå Center for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Building 6M, Umeå 901-87, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alstermark
authors.affiliation: Umeå Center for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Building 6M, Umeå 901-87, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sara I
authors.identifier: 0000000336648178
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D066146:Cell Body; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D066294:Commissural Interneurons / Q000502:physiology*; D000075389:DCC Receptor; D018274:Electroporation; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000075388:Netrin-1; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010957:Plasmids; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins
chemical_list: D000075389:DCC Receptor; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000075388:Netrin-1; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C501910:Dcc protein, mouse; C118348:Robo3 protein, mouse; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins