Potential Involvement of Draxin in the Axonal Projection of Cranial Nerves, Especially Cranial Nerve X, in the Chick Hindbrain

Abstract

The appropriate projection of axons within the nervous system is a crucial component of the establishment of neural circuitry. Draxin is a repulsive axon guidance protein. Draxin has important functions in the guidance of three commissures in the central nervous system and in the migration of neural crest cells and dI3 interneurons in the chick spinal cord. Here, we report that the distribution of the draxin protein and the location of 23C10-positive areas have a strong temporal and spatial correlation. The overexpression of draxin, especially transmembrane draxin, caused 23C10-positive axon bundles to misproject in the dorsal hindbrain. In addition, the overexpression of transmembrane draxin caused abnormal formation of the ganglion crest of the IX and X cranial nerves, misprojection of some anti-human natural killer-1 (HNK-1)-stained structures in the dorsal roof of the hindbrain, and a simultaneous reduction in the efferent nerves of some motoneuron axons inside the hindbrain. Our data reveal that draxin might be involved in the fascicular projection of cranial nerves in the hindbrain.