Paradoxical perpendicular contact guidance displayed by mouse cerebellar granule cell neurons in vitro

In order to study migration of neurons in vitro, we cultured microexplants of the newborn mouse cerebellum outer layer, which is rich in immature granule cells, on a substratum double-coated with poly-L-lysine and laminin. The granule cells first migrated away from the explant along radially oriented parallel bundles of their neurites, thus displaying typical contact guidance. Then, in almost all explants, they changed their orientation by 90 degrees to extend cell processes and translocate perpendicular to the radial neurites. Orientation and migration of neurons perpendicular to the aligned parallel structure is a novel type of contact-guided cell behavior, and may have interesting implications in migration of neurons in the cerebellum and other parts of the nervous system.