Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Labeling F-actin Barbed Ends with Rhodamine-actin in Permeabilized Neuronal Growth Cones
09:14

Labeling F-actin Barbed Ends with Rhodamine-actin in Permeabilized Neuronal Growth Cones

Published on: March 17, 2011

Molecular mechanisms of growth cone guidance: stop and go?

E T Stoeckli1

  • 1Institute of Zoology, University of Basel, Rheinsprung 9, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland. stoecklie@ubaclu.unibas.ch

Cell and Tissue Research
|October 10, 1997
PubMed

Insights

Growth cones navigate complex paths by integrating continuous positive and negative cues, not simple signals. This dynamic integration ensures accurate axon guidance to specific targets in developing nervous systems.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Axon guidance is crucial for forming functional neural circuits.
  • Previous models suggested simpler guidance mechanisms for neuronal growth cones.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the complex guidance mechanisms employed by neuronal growth cones.
  • To understand how growth cones navigate through developing nervous system tissues.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of pathfinding studies in both vertebrate and invertebrate models.
  • Investigating the role of continuous cue integration in growth cone navigation.

Main Results:

  • Growth cone navigation is not based on simple stop/go signals.
  • Guidance relies on the continuous integration of both attractive (positive) and repulsive (negative) cues.
  • Axon pathfinding is determined by a dynamic, site-specific assessment of environmental cues.

Conclusions:

  • Neuronal growth cones integrate a complex, ever-changing landscape of guidance cues.
  • Temporal and spatial variations in molecular interactions dictate unique growth cone trajectories.
  • This dynamic process enables the precise guidance of millions of axons during nervous system development.

More Related Videos

Visualizing Axonal Growth Cone Collapse and Early Amyloid β Effects in Cultured Mouse Neurons06:23

Visualizing Axonal Growth Cone Collapse and Early Amyloid β Effects in Cultured Mouse Neurons

Published on: October 30, 2018

Analyses of Actin Dynamics, Clutch Coupling and Traction Force for Growth Cone Advance07:53

Analyses of Actin Dynamics, Clutch Coupling and Traction Force for Growth Cone Advance

Published on: October 21, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Cell Migration01:09

Cell Migration

Cell migration, the process by which cells move from one location to another, is essential for the proper development and viability of organisms throughout their life. When cells are not able to migrate properly to their ordained locations, various disorders may occur. For example, disruption in cell migration causes chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.
Cell Migration01:19

Cell Migration

Cell migration is a process by which the cells move from one location to another, playing an essential role in embryological development, repair and regeneration, immune response, and metastasis. Cells migrate in response to chemical or mechanical signals generated by specific organs or tissues. The overall mechanism includes three steps - polarization, protrusion, and release. Polarization involves the formation of a distinct cell front and rear, which determines the direction of movement.
Mechanism of Filopodia Formation01:39

Mechanism of Filopodia Formation

Filopodia are thin, actin-rich cellular protrusions that play an important role in many fundamental cellular functions. They vary in their occurrence, length, and positioning in different cell types, suggesting their diverse roles.
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...
Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation01:31

Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation

Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...
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,...
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...