S-Laminin

Excerpt

A variety of processes contribute to generating patterns of connectivity in the nervous system. These include the production of appropriate numbers and types of cells at particular times and places, the expression of intrinsic programs by neurons, the guided outgrowth of axons to appropriate targets, and the selection of appropriate postsynaptic partners by individual neurites. With the aim of discovering some of the molecules that determine where and when axons make synapses, we have focused on the vertebrate skeletal neuromuscular junction. As the most accessible of vertebrate synapses, the neuromuscular junction has been the subject of numerous histological, physiological, and molecular studies, so a wealth of information is available about its structure, function, and development (Salpeter 1987; Fernandez and Donoso 1988). It is the only synapse at which several pre- and postsynaptic molecules have been identified, localized, and cloned (J.R. Sanes and J.P. Merlie, in prep.). Furthermore, motor axons can...