Expression of Genes Involved in Axon Guidance: How Much Have We Learned?

Abstract

Neuronal axons are guided to their target during the development of the brain. Axon guidance allows the formation of intricate neural circuits that control the function of the brain, and thus the behavior. As the axons travel in the brain to find their target, they encounter various axon guidance cues, which interact with the receptors on the tip of the growth cone to permit growth along different signaling pathways. Although many scientists have performed numerous studies on axon guidance signaling pathways, we still have an incomplete understanding of the axon guidance system. Lately, studies on axon guidance have shifted from studying the signal transduction pathways to studying other molecular features of axon guidance, such as the gene expression. These new studies present evidence for different molecular features that broaden our understanding of axon guidance. Hence, in this review we will introduce recent studies that illustrate different molecular features of axon guidance. In particular, we will review literature that demonstrates how axon guidance cues and receptors regulate local translation of axonal genes and how the expression of guidance cues and receptors are regulated both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally. Moreover, we will highlight the pathological relevance of axon guidance molecules to specific diseases.

Immune-Related Molecular Profiling of Thymoma With Myasthenia Gravis

“…GO analysis showed that the target genes of WT1-AS were enriched in actin binding, indicating it regulates the gene expression of proteins that bind actin and thereby potentially modulates the properties and/or functions of the actin filament. Axon guidance, a significantly enriched pathway found by KEGG analysis, allows the formation of intricate neural circuits that favor axons to form synaptic connections (Russell & Bashaw, 2018;Kim & Kim, 2020). Studies have shown that disrupted axon guidance contributes to neurological disorders (Niftullayev & Lamarche-Vane, 2019).…”

Integrated analysis of differentially expressed genes and construction of a competing endogenous RNA network in human Huntington neural progenitor cells

“…Axon guidance is essential for intricate neural circuit formation in brain development [ 72 ]. Some studies have shown an abnormal expression or mutation of axon guidance–related genes or proteins that are indispensable for maintaining normal synaptic structure and connections in adults, and are associated with different neurological disorders [ 72 , 73 ], such as AD, PD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as well as other diseases. For example, netrin-1 plays a protective role against AD and may be a potential target for AD [ 74 , 75 ].…”

Upregulation of Netrin-1 in the hippocampus mediates the formation of visceral hypersensitivity induced by maternal separation

“…Axon guidance molecules combined with their receptors properly guide the axon to its target to form specific synaptic connections during the development of brain regions, such as the hippocampus ( Skutella and Nitsch, 2001 ; Kim and Kim, 2020 ). Aberrant expression of the axon guidance system can lead to brain disorders, and thus impact behaviors ( Van Battum et al, 2015 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ).…”