September 09, 1998
Simple Chemical Switches Steer Migrating Neurons
In an embryo's developing brain and spinal cord, the growing ends of
nerve cells, called axons, travel great distances to make precise
connections with other neurons. Without such accurate connectivity, the
nervous system would never wire properly.
An axon's path towards a target neuron is steered by growth cones
that are located in the tip of the axon. These growth cones receive
cues about the best path to follow from chemical attractants and
repellents secreted by cells in the central nervous system.
Until recently, scientists assumed that type of neuron and the
unique chemical receptors found on its surface determined whether a
neuron is attracted to or repelled by a given guidance chemical. Now,
HHMI investigator Marc Tessier-Lavigne at the University of California,
San Francisco, working with Mu-ming Poo and colleagues at the
University of California, San Diego (UCSD), has found that a single
chemical cue can either attract or repel, depending on the growth
cone's internal status. This research is reported in the September 4,
1998, issue of the journal Science.
This work, says Tessier-Lavigne, may hold promise for regenerating
nerves damaged by spinal cord injury. It also provides potentially
important clues for understanding disorders of neuronal migration,
which may be responsible for childhood epilepsy, forms of mental
retardation, and possibly dyslexia and schizophrenia.
The researchers found that two key signaling chemicals, cyclic AMP
and cyclic GMP, located in the growth cone, act as switches. In
general, increasing levels of these cyclic nucleotides promotes
attraction, while lowering levels favors repulsion. Thus, both
attraction and repulsion share a common chemical switch.
In studying spinal cord neurons cultured from frog embryos, the
investigators found evidence of two steering-related circuits within
the growth cones, one responding to cyclic AMP, the other to cyclic
GMP. For example, a repulsive signal-where growth cones turn away from
the source of the chemical cue-became attractive when cyclic GMP was
added to the growing neurons. In contrast, a different repulsive signal
became attractive when cyclic AMP was added to the growing neurons.
Several years ago, Tessier-Lavigne's group discovered netrin-1, a
chemical that attracts growth cones. In an article published in
Neuron in December 1997, Tessier-Lavigne's and Poo's groups
showed that netrin-1 can also repel growth cones when cyclic AMP is
lowered. Both the attraction and the repulsion were abolished by
lowering calcium levels. In the article published in Science,
the researchers show that calcium dependence emerged as a consistent
feature of cues influenced by the cyclic AMP circuit.
"It's remarkable that all five cues we've looked at so far fit this
simple picture," said Tessier-Lavigne. "We seem to be tapping into some
primordial guidance mechanisms. The growth cone is a machine designed
to respond to the environment by turning one way or the other, so maybe
it's not so surprising there are only a limited number of ways of
accessing that machine."
That is not the end of the story, however. Cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP
levels are controlled by other factors in the growth cone's
ever-changing external environment. This, says Tessier-Lavigne,
suggests that "the response of a growth cone to a particular guidance
cue may depend critically on other signals received by the neuron. The
susceptibility to conversion between attraction and repulsion may
enable a growing axon to respond differentially to the same guidance
cue at different points along the journey to its final target."
In an accompanying commentary in the same issue of Science,
Pico Caroni of the Miescher Institute in Switzerland cites as "most
exciting" the possibility that damaged nerves might be regenerated by
treating them with drugs that boost the levels of these molecular cues,
reversing the action of repulsive factors.
For example, MAG, a component of a neuron's protective myelin
sheath, is known to actively block axonal regeneration. The researchers
showed that MAG, which is normally repellent, can become an attractant
when cyclic AMP levels are raised.
"Since many different inhibitory factors that prevent regeneration
likely act through these chemical cue systems, we have a better chance
of reversing all inhibitory actions by this type of manipulation," said
Poo. He also noted that experiments in live animals would follow,
and-assuming those studies are promising-eventually clinical trials in
humans.
In vivo studies will be needed to test whether the switching
mechanism discovered in the cell culture model is actually being used
by the developing organism, added Tessier-Lavigne.
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