Spinal cord myelination crucially depends on the long-distance migration of oligodendrocyte precursors (OPs) that originate from a ventral ventricular zone (VVZ) domain in the developing neural tube. Tsai et al. now report that the initial dispersal of OPs from this location is mediated by a chemorepulsive response to netrin 1, which belongs to the well-known family of neuronal chemorepellants and chemoattractants. They show, on p. 2095, that netrin 1 is expressed in chick ventral spinal cord when OPs initially migrate from the VVZ. In vitro, both chick ventral spinal cord explants and netrin 1-positive cells repel migratory OPs, which express the netrin 1 receptors DCC and UNC5. This chemorepulsive response can be inhibited by a function-blocking, anti-DCC antibody. These, and other, findings reported here highlight the crucial role of netrin 1 in the process of axon myelination.
IN THIS ISSUE|
15 May 2003
Netrin, cell repulsion and myelination
Online ISSN: 1477-9129
Print ISSN: 0950-1991
© 2003.
2003
Development (2003) 130 (10): e1001.
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Netrin 1 mediates spinal cord oligodendrocyte precursor dispersal
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Netrin, cell repulsion and myelination. Development 15 May 2003; 130 (10): e1001. doi:
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