Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Oct 14.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Neurosci. 2009 Jan 21;32(3):142–149. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2008.11.006

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Axon-guidance molecules: ligands and receptors on pre- and post-connective elements in neural circuitry. The drawing shows a simplified model of synaptic disconnection and repair associated with axon-guidance molecules (axon in blue; dendrite in yellow; glia in gray). (a) Axon-guidance molecules such as the netrin-G1 (NTNG1), sema5A (SEMA5A) and Slit3 (SLIT3) ligands (and their respective receptors) and the DCC and EphB1 (EPHB1) receptors (and their respective ligands) contribute to the modulation and maintenance of synaptic transmission. (b) Genetic variation in these axon-guidance-pathway cues might result in abnormal synaptic connections in the developing brain or in normally connected synapses that are more vulnerable to endogenous or exogenous toxins that trigger synaptic dysfunction and cell death. (c) Synapses can be reconstructed or repaired either by transplanting new cells or by modifying the expression of these axon-guidance-pathway cues.