What is it about?
Commissural neurons connect the two halves of the spinal cord. How these neurons extend axons across the midline of the nervous system has been studied extensively, but how gene activation or repression contribute to this process has remained elusive. This study identified gene expression programs that drive commissural neuron development and discovered a genetic blueprint for axon midline crossing.
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Why is it important?
Commissural neurons have long served as a powerful model system for axon pathfinding. This study overcomes technical barriers that have prevented a comprehensive genetic characterization of these neurons. Findings from this research provide a molecular atlas of commissural neuron development, and they uncover a previously unappreciated gene expression switch that allows commissural axons to first approach and then depart the spinal cord midline. This finding has general implications for axon pathfinding through intermediate targets, such as the spinal cord midline.
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This page is a summary of: Gene expression programs underlying spinal commissural neuron differentiation and axon growth across the midline, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2607727123.
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