What Regulates Connectivity in the Developing and Repairing Brain?

Abstract

A major obstacle in repairing the injured or diseased brain is inducing axons (nerve cell processes) to make the appropriate connections. This is especially true following cell replacement therapy (CRT) in Parkinson's disease (PD). We will examine the processes inducing axons in the dopamine pathways to grow. We hypothesize that Wnt signaling plays and important role and that therapeutic introduction of Wnt is required to repair the dopamine pathways following CRT in PD.

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Wnt5a regulates midbrain dopaminergic axon growth and guidance

BD Blakely, CR Bye, CV Fernando, MK Horne, ML Macheda, SA Stacker, E Arenas, CL Parish

2011-04-08

During development, precise temporal and spatial gradients are responsible for guiding axons to their appropriate targets. Within ..