CXCL12 guides optic pathway development

A new paper published in the journal Development demonstrates that CXCL12 promotes the crossing of retinal ganglion cell axons. 

A collaboration between UCL Institute of Ophthalmology's Christiana Ruhrberg and Laura Denti with researchers at the University of Aberdeen and Jena University Hospital, the study demonstrates that CXCL12 is expressed in the ventral diencephalon meninges, which neighbours the optic chiasm where the axons extending from retinal ganglion cells are sorted into the two brain hemispheres to enable stereovision. This research identifies CXCL12 as a key factor in promoting axon growth across the optic chiasm to form the contralateral axon projections.

Links

• Study in journal Development
• Professor Christiana Ruhrberg's research profile
• Ruhrberg Lab

Image

• Cover page of journal Development