Nerve growth cones, the dilated tip of developing axons, are equipped with exquisite abilities to sense environmental cues and to move rapidly through complex terrains of developing brain, leading the axons to their specific targets for precise neuronal wiring. The actin cytoskeleton is the major component of the growth cone that powers its directional motility. Past research has provided significant insights into the mechanisms by which growth cones translate extracellular signals into directional migration. In this review, we summarize the actin-based mechanisms underlying directional growth cone motility, examine novel findings, and discuss the outstanding questions concerning the actin-based growth cone behaviors.

神经生长锥是发育中的轴突的末端，具有精巧的功能，可以感知环境线索并在发育中的大脑的复杂地形中快速移动，从而将轴突引向特定的目标，以进行精确的神经元接线。肌动蛋白的细胞骨架是生长锥的主要组成部分，该生长锥为其方向运动提供动力。过去的研究对生长锥将细胞外信号转化为定向迁移的机理提供了重要的见识。在这篇综述中，我们总结了定向生长锥活动性背后的基于肌动蛋白的机制，研究了新发现，并讨论了有关基于肌动蛋白的生长锥行为的突出问题。