Developmental regulation of axon branching in the vertebrate nervous system

Abstract

SummaryDuring nervous system development, axons generate branches to connect with multiple synaptic targets. As with axon growth and guidance, axon branching is tightly controlled in order to establish functional neural circuits, yet the mechanisms that regulate this important process are less well understood. Here, we review recent advances in the study of several common branching processes in the vertebrate nervous system. By focusing on each step in these processes we illustrate how different types of branching are regulated by extracellular cues and neural activity, and highlight some common principles that underlie the establishment of complex neural circuits in vertebrate development.

SAD kinases control the maturation of nerve terminals in the mammalian peripheral and central nervous systems

“…The axon then grows, often over long distances, to reach target regions. Within the targets, axons branch to form complex arbors that contact postsynaptic cells (2). Some contacts then differentiate into nerve terminals that contain active zones, calcium channels, and concentrations of synaptic vesicles and mitochondria (3).…”

Kinesin-1 sorting in axons controls the differential retraction of arbor terminals

“…To connect with multiple target cells, neurons elaborate the axonal arbor by controlling growth and retraction during development (Gibson and Ma, 2011;Kalil and Dent, 2014). Previous in vivo (Portera-Cailliau et al, 2005;Hua et al, 2005;Meyer and Smith, 2006;Stettler et al, 2006;Nishiyama et al, 2007) and in vitro (Bastmeyer and O'Leary, 1996;Ruthel and Hollenbeck, 2000) studies have revealed the diverse plasticity of arbor terminals in a single axon.…”

A Novel Function for the PAR Complex in Subcellular Morphogenesis of Tracheal Terminal Cells in Drosophila melanogaster

“…In this process, cells send out extensions from their plasma membranes, which grow and undergo bifurcation events to form complex, branched networks. Examples of subcellular branching morphogenesis are seen in glial oligodendrocytes (Bauer et al 2009) and in dendritic cells of the mammalian immune system (Makala and Nagasawa 2002), but by far the best studied examples of this process are in neurons (reviewed by Gibson and Ma 2011;Jan and Jan 2010). Indeed, neurons are frequently categorized entirely by differences in their branching morphologies (see Puelles 2009).…”