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Related Concept Videos

Synaptic Signaling01:12

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
Synaptic Signaling01:09

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...
Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins01:21

Cell Polarization by Rho Proteins

Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular and membrane components, making one side of the cell different from the other. This polarity is essential to many processes such as embryogenesis, axon migration, glucose transport across epithelial cells, and directional cell migration. A migrating cell responds to intracellular or extracellular signals via molecular cascades that reorganize the actin cytoskeleton to establish this polarity. In these cells, the Rho family proteins Cdc42,...
Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration01:21

Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration

Cells can detect chemical cues in their environment and reorganize the cytoskeleton to migrate toward them or away from them. This directional migration, called chemotaxis, is essential during embryogenesis and development, immune response, tissue repair and regeneration, and reproduction. These chemical cues can either attract or repel the cell's movement. For example, axon development is determined by a combination of chemoattractants and chemorepellents that direct the growing axon towards...
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration01:32

Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration

A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker proteins that...
Neurons: The Axon01:21

Neurons: The Axon

Axons are long, cytoplasmic processes of nerve cells capable of propagating electrical impulses known as action potentials. The cytoplasm or axoplasm of an axon contains neurofibrils, neurotubules, small vesicles, lysosomes, mitochondria, and various enzymes, all encased within the axolemma, the plasma membrane of the axon.
The axon attaches to the cell body at a cone-shaped elevation called the axon hillock. The initial part of the axon, closest to the hillock, is known as the initial segment.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

Use of pHluorin to Assess the Dynamics of Axon Guidance Receptors in Cell Culture and in the Chick Embryo
10:30

Use of pHluorin to Assess the Dynamics of Axon Guidance Receptors in Cell Culture and in the Chick Embryo

Published on: January 12, 2014

Translating axon guidance cues.

Oswald Steward1

  • 1Reeve-Irvine Research Center, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine Irvine, CA 92697, USA. osteward@uci.edu

Cell
|September 17, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Local messenger RNA (mRNA) translation in axons is crucial for growth cone navigation. This process supports the synthesis of proteins for turning responses and receptors for guidance cues.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Axon guidance is essential for neural circuit formation.
  • Growth cone navigation relies on external cues and internal cellular mechanisms.
  • The role of local protein synthesis in axons is an emerging area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the significance of local messenger RNA (mRNA) translation in axon growth cone navigation.
  • To explore the involvement of local protein synthesis in growth cone responses to guidance cues.
  • To determine if growth cones have the capacity for local synthesis of axon guidance cue receptors.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of existing research and experimental evidence.
  • Review of molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in protein synthesis.
  • Examination of growth cone behavior in response to guidance signals.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests local mRNA translation in axons is vital for growth cone navigation.
  • Local protein synthesis mediates growth cone collapse and turning in response to guidance cues.
  • Growth cones possess the necessary machinery for the local synthesis of axon guidance cue receptors.

Conclusions:

  • Local mRNA translation is a key mechanism in growth cone navigation.
  • This process enables dynamic responses to guidance cues through local protein production.
  • Growth cones are equipped for intrinsic synthesis of essential guidance receptors.