Source: Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal
Date: November 13, 2006
Summary:
An international team of scientists have discovered that a gene called Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is an axonal attractant for brain and spinal cord neurons, which could help treat spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. They showed that Shh exerts its attractive effect through a novel receptor named Boc. Remarkably, this novel Shh receptor is absolutely required for the axon guidance role of Shh and the role of Shh in brain neural circuit formation. The findings could provide a better understanding of the structure and formation of the spinal cord and nervous system and identify new strategies to treat neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, or brain and spinal cord injuries.
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