Getting axons onto the right path: the role of transcription factors in axon guidance

Development. 2007 Feb;134(3):439-48. doi: 10.1242/dev.02762. Epub 2006 Dec 21.

Abstract

The normal function of the nervous system requires that the constituent neurons are precisely 'wired together'. During embryogenesis, each neuron extends an axonal process, which can navigate a considerable distance to its target. Although a number of the receptors and guidance signals that direct axonal growth have been identified, less is known about the transcription factors that regulate the expression of these molecules within the neuron and its environment. This review examines recent studies in vertebrates and Drosophila that address the identity of the transcription factors that either control the repertoire of guidance receptors and signals that permits an axon to take a particular trajectory or act themselves as novel extracellular guidance factors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Axons / physiology*
  • Axons / ultrastructure
  • Drosophila / physiology
  • Drosophila / ultrastructure
  • Drosophila Proteins / physiology
  • Homeodomain Proteins / physiology
  • Models, Neurological
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / physiology
  • Nervous System / growth & development*
  • Transcription Factors / physiology*
  • Vertebrates

Substances

  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Homeodomain Proteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Transcription Factors