Neuron Glia Biology

  • Neuron Glia Biology (2004), 1 : pp 73-83
  • Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004
  • DOI: 10.1017/S1740925X04000109 (About DOI)
  • Published online: 05 May 2004

Table of Contents - 2004 - Volume 1, Issue 01  


Control of axonophilic migration of oligodendrocyte precursor cells by Eph–ephrin interaction

LAETITIA  PRESTOZ  a1 1 , ELLI  CHATZOPOULOU  a1 1 , GREGORY LEMKINE a1, NATHALIE SPASSKY a1, BARBARA LEBRAS a1, TETSUSHI KAGAWA a2, KATZUHIRO IKENAKA a2, BERNARD ZALC a1 and JEAN-LÉON THOMAS a1c1
a1 Biologie des Interactions Neurones/Glie, INSERM U-495, IFR Neurosciences Pitié-Salpêtrière, UPMC, Hôpital de la Salpetrière, 75651 Paris
a2 Division of Molecular Neurobiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444, Japan

Article author query
prestoz l   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
chatzopoulou e   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
lemkine g   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
spassky n   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
lebras b   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
kagawa t   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
ikenaka k   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
zalc b   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
thomas jl   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Abstract

The migration of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) is modulated by secreted molecules in their environment and by cell–cell and matrix–cell interactions. Here, we ask whether membrane-anchored guidance cues, such as the ephrin ligands and their Eph receptors, participate in the control of OPC migration in the optic nerve. We postulate that EphA and EphB receptors, which are expressed on axons of retinal ganglion cells, interact with ephrins on the surface of OPCs. We show the expression of ephrinA5, ephrinB 2 and ephrinB3 in the migrating OPCs of the optic nerve as well as in the diencephalic sites from where they originate. In addition, we demonstrate that coated EphB2-Fc receptors, which are specific for ephrinB2/B3 ligands, induce dramatic changes in the contact and migratory properties of OPCs, indicating that axonal EphB receptors activate ephrinB signaling in OPCs. Based on these findings, we propose that OPCs are characterized by an ephrin code, and that Eph–ephrin interactions between axons and OPCs control the distribution of OPCs in the optic axonal tracts, and the progress and arrest of their migration.


Key Words: Axon–glial interactions; development; migration; myelin.

Correspondence:
c1 Dr. Jean-Léon Thomas, Biologie des Interactions Neurones/Glie, INSERM U-495, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 75651 Paris cedex 13, France. phone: 33 1 42 16 21 40; fax: 33 1 45 84 80 08. email: jlthomas@ccr.jussieu.fr

Footnotes

1 These authors contributed equally to this work.


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