Considering mechanics might lead to new breakthroughs in our understanding of neuronal regeneration.
- Kristian Franze
Scientists have found that developing nerve cells are able to ‘feel’ their environment as they grow, helping them form the correct connections within the brain and with other parts of the body. The results, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, could open up new avenues of research in brain development, and lead to potential treatments for spinal cord injuries and other types of neuronal damage.
As the brain develops, roughly 100 billion neurons make over 100 trillion connections to send and receive information. For decades, it has been widely accepted that neuronal growth is controlled by small signalling molecules which are ‘sniffed’ out by the growing neurons, telling them which way to go, so that they can find their precise target. The new study, by researchers from the University of Cambridge, shows that neuronal growth is not only controlled by these chemical signals, but also by the physical properties of their environment, which guide the neurons along complex stiffness patterns in the tissue through which they grow.
“The fact that neurons in the developing brain not only respond to chemical signals but also to the mechanical properties of their environment opens many exciting new avenues for research in brain development,” said the study’s lead author Dr Kristian Franze, from Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience. “Considering mechanics might also lead to new breakthroughs in our understanding of neuronal regeneration. For example, following spinal cord injuries, the failure of neurons to regrow through damaged tissue with altered mechanical properties has been a persistent challenge in medicine.”
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Image:Brain of a frog embryo. The coloured structures are cell nuclei (containing DNA), the white structure in the center corresponds to the optic tract, which contains the neuronal axons studied.
Credit: Eva Pillai
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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