How Do Neural Cells Migrate?
In normal CNS development, neuroblasts migrate from their stem cell precursors to the site of their future location by traveling through a three-dimensional matrix condusive to migration. The photo to the left shows how neurons migrate when placed in various media.
What Makes Neural Cells Migrate?
In vitro experiments have shown that a two-dimensional culture of laminin (LMN) promotes the migration of cerebellar granule and radial glial cells. As shown by the picture below, these cells dellineate the paths that future neurons take as they migrate from their origins to their eventual homes in the adult CNS. The migration of the radial glial cells was enhanced when entactin was added to form a complex with LMN. The proteins fibrin and callogen type 1 are suitable for constructing three-dimensional gels which help to illustrate how neural cells differentiate and migrate to form adult neural cells. (28)
