PLOS Biology article published from the Bénard Lab, titled "Glypican Is a Modulator of Netrin-Mediated Axon Guidance"

Summary:

During the development of the nervous system, migrating axons are guided as they navi- gate through complex environments to reach their target destinations. These directed mi- grations are essential to ensure the proper wiring and function of the nervous system and are instructed by guidance cues and receptors. There is a remarkably small set of guidance cues and receptors relative to the large number of neuronal migrations, suggesting that the actions of these guidance cues might be diversified by regulatory mechanisms. We have addressed this question in the genetically tractable nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We identify that the response of migrating neurons to a key guidance cue, UNC-6/netrin, is modulated by a specific proteoglycan, LON-2/glypican. We show that LON-2/glypican may carry out this regulation by interacting with the UNC-40/DCC netrin receptor on the cell surface. We propose that LON-2/glypican acts as an extracellular modulator of UNC- 40/DCC-mediated guidance to fine-tune axonal responses to UNC-6/netrin signals during migration.

Find the article here