SEMAPHORINS - MEDIATORS OF REPULSIVE GROWTH CONE GUIDANCE

During development, neuronal growth cones encounter a variety of guida nce cues while mediating axon pathfinding, target recognition and syna pse formation. It is clear that repulsive guidance mechanisms play an essential role in these processes. The semaphorin gene family, which i s conserved from invertebrates to mammals, includes members that media te repulsive guidance. Molecular and cellular analysis of this gene fa mily is providing insight into how inhibitory cues function during neu rodevelopment.