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Chemotropic effect of specific target epithelium in the developing mammalian nervous system

Nature volume 323, pages 538–539 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Developing nerve fibres are guided to their targets by specific directional cues1,2 which are thought to be expressed in the tissues along the route3–7 and may involve the extracellular matrix8–10. Another possibility, that directional cues emanate from the target itself11, is consistent with the recent demonstration of homing behaviour by ectopic retinal ganglion axons12 and our previous demonstration that early trigeminal neurites grow directly to their virgin peripheral target in vitro13. Here we show that this chemotropic effect is precisely limited to the trigeminal system; trigeminal ganglion neurites grow directly to their own target field but not to the adjoining field, normally innervated by the geniculate ganglion; furthermore, the trigeminal field does not influence the growth of geniculate neurites. Also, when trigeminal ganglia are co-cultured with isolated tissue layers of their target, neurites grow only towards the epithelial and not the mesenchymal component. These findings suggest that trigeminal epithelium is specified to attract correct innervation and that pathway mesenchyme, in which preformed guidance cues have been postulated10,14,15, may provide favourable conditions for nerve fibre growth but not govern its direction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Guy's Hospital Medical School, London, SE1 9RT, UK

    A. G. S. Lumsden & Alun M. Davies

  2. St George's Hospital Medical School, London, SW17, UK

    A. G. S. Lumsden & Alun M. Davies

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  1. A. G. S. Lumsden
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  2. Alun M. Davies
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Lumsden, A., Davies, A. Chemotropic effect of specific target epithelium in the developing mammalian nervous system. Nature 323, 538–539 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323538a0

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