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First published online December 1, 2003

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PSA-NCAM – not just a lubricant

Migration of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) is essential for formation and repair of myelin within the CNS. OPCs migrate towards sources of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and respond to guidance factors such as netrin. Their migration is also stimulated by cell adhesion molecules such as polysialic acid neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM); however, the prevailing view has been that these merely `grease the wheels' by reducing adhesion forces rather affect the direction the cells choose. Jozsef Kiss and co-workers now show that this is not the case (see p. 93). They show that disrupting the PSA-NCAM PSA tail or removing it with endoneuraminidase prevents cells from responding correctly to PDGF in Boyden and Dunn chemotaxis chambers. The cells polarize and migrate but do not move in the right direction, instead making random turns. Intriguingly, the effect is specific to PDGF – loss of PSA does not affect the response to FGF-2. PSA-NCAM thus appears to be important for establishing the directionality of PDGF-directed motility rather than for locomotion itself.

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Related articles in JCS:

A role for the polysialic acid – neural cell adhesion molecule in PDGF-induced chemotaxis of oligodendrocyte precursor cells

H. Zhang, L. Vutskits, V. Calaora, P. Durbec, and J. Z. Kiss
JCS 2004 117: 93-103. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?