Humoral and surface-anchored factors in development and repair of the nervous system

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the regulation of neuronal survival (neuronotrophic agents) and neurite extension (neurite promoting agents). The chapter articulates a proposition that contains two components. First, the behaviors of an individual neural cell, be it neuronal or glial, are regulated by its microenvironment—that is, humoral signals from the extracellular fluid and anchored signals from the extracellular matrix or neighboring cell surfaces. Secondly, those changes in these extrinsic signals provide the cues that direct neural development, modulate the functional performance of adult neurons and often underlie the course if not the onset of neural pathologies. Most of the progress achieved in these areas is made possible by the development and utilization of neural cell cultures and the chapter gives a review of the concepts underlying the use of neural cells in vitro . On the other hand, the neuroteratological defect may reflect the defective construction of a neural circuit, that is, disrupted regulation of neuronogenesis (neuroblast proliferation, neuronal cell death), neuritogenesis (elongation and directional guidance of axons and dendrites) and/or synaptogenesis (specific connectivity, selection of transmitter mode, functional synapse formation.