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Axons are guided along specific pathways by attractive
and repulsive cues in the extracellular environment. Genetic and
biochemicalstudies have led to the identification of highly conserved
familiesof guidance molecules, including netrins, Slits, semaphorins,and ephrins. Guidance cues steer axons by regulating cytoskeletaldynamics in the growth cone through signaling pathways that arestill
only poorly understood. Elaborate regulatory mechanismsensure that a
given cue elicits the right response from the rightaxons at the right
time but is otherwise ignored. With such regulatorymechanisms in
place, a relatively small number of guidance factorscan be used to
generate intricate patterns of neuronal wiring.
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Dr. Bohr-gasse 7, A-1030 Vienna, Austria. E-mail: dickson{at}nt.imp.univie.ac.at
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