Cell-to-substratum adhesion and guidance of axonal elongation.

The behavior of axonal growth cones on surfaces with patterned variations in substratum was observed. Cells from sensory ganglia of 8-day-old chicken embryos were cultured on plastic petri dishes, plastic tissue culture dishes, and polyornithine-coated tissue culture dishes, all of which contained gridlike patterns of palladium (Pd) deposition. The results indicated that growth cones elongated on the Pd-shadowed areas vs areas lacking Pd deposits depending on the relative adhesivity of the growth cones to the substrata. In petri dishes, growth cones stay on the Pd; in tissue culture dishes, they cross from one surface to the other; and in polyornithine-coated dishes, they elongate for great distances on the Pd-free areas. Analyses of time-lapse movies showed that, on Pd-shadowed polyornithine dishes, growth cones often approach the Pd-coated areas and microspikes touch the Pd surface. Yet, the axon tip continues to elongate on the Pd-free polyornithine surface. The conclusion is offered that interactions between microspikes and the substratum adjacent to the growth cone are important determinants of the directions and pathways of axonal elongation.