First published online August 14, 2006
Development 133, 1703e (2006)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Guiding axon guidance receptors
Growing axons form their correct connections in the developing nervous
system by responding to specific guidance molecules. But how are these
molecules and their receptors regulated? On
p. 3441, Ogura and
Goshima report that, in C. elegans, the subcellular localisation of
UNC-5, the receptor for the axon guidance molecule Netrin (UNC-6), is
regulated by the autophagy-related kinase UNC-51 and its binding partner
UNC-14 (which may also be involved in vesicle trafficking). UNC-5 normally
localizes to small vesicles in the axons and cell bodies of the dorsally
extending DD/VD motoneurons. In unc-51 and unc-14 mutants,
which contain many neurons with guidance defects, UNC-5 (but not other
molecules needed for axon guidance) is abnormally localised in the cell bodies
of these motoneurons. Furthermore, unc-5 and unc-6 interact
genetically with unc-51 and unc-14 to affect DD/VD axon
guidance, and UNC-5, UNC-51 and UNC-14 colocalise in neurons. Ogura and
Goshima conclude that UNC-5 uses a unique unknown mechanism for its
localisation, which, in turn, probably regulates its activity.
Related articles in Development:
- The autophagy-related kinase UNC-51 and its binding partner UNC-14 regulate the subcellular localization of the Netrin receptor UNC-5 in Caenorhabditis elegans
- Ken-ichi Ogura and Yoshio Goshima
Development 2006 133: 3441-3450.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
