Signaling pathways that regulate axon regeneration
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Abstract
Neurons in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) cannot regenerate axons after injury. in contrast, neurons in the mammalian peripheral nervous system and in some non-mammalian models, such as C. elegans and Drosophila, are able to regrow axons. Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which these neurons support axon regeneration will help us find ways to enhance mammalian CNS axon regeneration. Here, recent studies in which signaling pathways regulating naturally-occurring axon regeneration that have been identified are reviewed, focusing on how these pathways control gene expression and growth-cone function during axon regeneration.
Keywords
axon regeneration; axonal growth; signal transduction