Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T18:05:07.045Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

No pun intended: future directions in invertebrate glial cell migration studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2007

Patrick Cafferty
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Zoology, Vancouver, Canada
Vanessa J. Auld*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Zoology, Vancouver, Canada
*
*Correspondence should be addressed to Vanessa J. Auld, University of British Columbia, Zoology, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z3, Canada phone: +1 604 822 1977 email: [email protected]

Abstract

Glial cells play a wide range of essential roles in both nervous system development and function and has been reviewed recently (Parker and Auld, 2006). Glia provide an insulating sheath, either form or direct the formation of the blood–brain barrier, contribute to ion and metabolite homeostasis and provide guidance cues. Glial function often depends on the ability of glial cells to migrate toward specific locations during nervous system development. Work in nervous system development in insects, in particular in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta, has provided significant insight into the roles of glia, although the molecular mechanisms underlying glial cell migration are being determined only now. Indeed, many of the processes and mechanisms discovered in these simpler systems have direct parallels in the development of vertebrate nervous systems. In this review, we first examine the developmental contexts in which invertebrate glial cell migration has been observed, we next discuss the characterized molecules required for proper glial cell migration, and we finally discuss future goals to be addressed in the study of glial cell development.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)