Despite the complex nature of dendritic aborizations, the dendrites of a single neuron rarely touch. Cell surface proteins have been implicated in this self-avoidance phenomenon, but other molecular determinants have remained unclear. Here, the authors showed that in Caenorhabditis elegans, disruption of netrin (UNC-6) signalling led to a failure of touch withdrawal in dendrites of PVD nociceptive neurons, as revealed by time-lapse imaging. As netrin is a diffusible factor that is involved in axon guidance, this study shows that dendrite self-avoidance may be achieved through various strategies.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Smith, C. J. et al. Netrin (UNC-6) mediates dendritic self-avoidance. Nature Neurosci. 18 Mar 2012 (doi:10.1038/nn.3065)
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Yates, D. Staying out of touch. Nat Rev Neurosci 13, 291 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3240
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3240