Multiple roles of Eph receptors and ephrins in neural development

The control of cell movement during development is essential for forming an d stabilizing the spatial organization of tissues and cell types. During in itial steps of tissue patterning, distinct regional domains or cell types a rise at appropriate locations, and the movement of cells is constrained in order to maintain spatial relationships during growth. In other situations, the guidance of migrating cells or neuronal growth cones to specific desti nations underlies the establishment or remodelling of a pattern. Eph recept or tyrosine kinases and their ephrin ligands are key players in controlling these cell movements in many tissues and at multiple stages of patterning.