How developing neurons sense a chemical cue
Saturday, May 31, 2014 - 01:31
in Biology & Nature
New structural images help explain how young neurons make the right connections, showing how a signal, Netrin-1, interacts with specific receptors that tell neurons in which direction to reach. "Our work provides the first high-resolution view of the molecular complexes that form on the surface of a developing axon and tell it to move in one direction or another," says a structural biologist involved in the study. "This detailed understanding of these assemblies helps us better understand neural wiring, and may one day be useful in the development of drugs to treat spinal cord or brain injuries."