Axon Guidance and the Patterning of Neuronal Projections in Vertebrates

Over the past decade, new insights have been obtained into the cellular strategies and molecular mechanisms that guide axons to their targets in the developing vertebrate nervous system. Axons select pathways by recognizing specific cues in their environment. These cues include cell surface and extracellular matrix molecules that mediate cell and substrate adhesion and axon fasciculation, molecules with contact-dependent inhibitory properties, and diffusible tropic factors. Several guidance cues may operate in a coordinated way to generate the distinct axonal trajectories of individual neurons.