, 2005; Moret et al., 2007). More generally, this gdnf/Semaphorin3B crosstalk could also impact on other developmental processes such as oriented cell migration. Although RET mediates crucial functions of gdnf (Paratcha and Ledda, 2008), our data provide evidence that the regulation of commissural axon responsiveness to Sema3B exerted by gdnf is NCAM, but not RET, dependent. Thus, we could not detect RET in commissural Selleckchem SKI-606 axons with either anti-RET antibodies or fluorescent cfp reporter in a RET-cfp mouse line. In contrast, NCAM distributes along commissural fibers from their initial growth. The inactivation of RET in Wnt1-expressing cells (including the dorsal

interneuron lineage) did not compromise the gdnf-induced gain of response of commissural growth cones to Sema3B. In contrast, the genetic loss of NCAM totally abolished their sensitivity. In the NCAM null

embryos, errors of commissural axon trajectories were detected in the FP. Although we cannot formally exclude that these defects result from other functions of NCAM, they are very similar to those observed in the gdnf null embryos. In contrast, in the RETf/f wnt1-cre line, commissural axons tend to stall but commit no obvious guidance errors during FP crossing. Finally, ex vivo and in vitro assays confirmed that commissural neurons lacking NCAM are not sensitive to gdnf-induced suppression of calpain activity and increase of Plexin-A1 levels, selleck chemical further supporting the contribution of NCAM in this mechanism. From the first study reporting that NCAM is an alternative receptor for gdnf (Paratcha et al., 2003), several contexts have been reported in which gdnf acts as a chemoattractant independently of RET via NCAM. For example, gdnf/NCAM signaling stimulates Schwann cell migration

and cortical neurite outgrowth (Sariola and Saarma, 2003). Our study identifies the commissural system as an additional context, which, being devoid of RET, stands as an interesting model to distinguish in vivo RET-dependent and RET-independent gdnf functions. GFRα1, which we found expressed in commissural neurons, is also a player in this regulation, as its inhibition with a function-blocking antibody abolished those the gdnf/Sema3B crosstalk. GPI-linked GFRs, which include the specific gdnf coreceptor GFRα1, have complex functions and mechanisms of action (Paratcha and Ledda, 2008). They are indispensable for high-affinity receptor binding and activation but can play these roles both in cis and in trans of the transducer receptor, acting on the gdnf signaling both cell autonomously and non-cell-autonomously ( Sariola and Saarma, 2003). Intriguingly, we observed that GFRα1 and NCAM expression profiles are not identical in the spinal commissural projections.