The in vivo regulation of pioneer axon growth by FGF-2 and heparan sulfate proteoglycans in cultured embryos of the cockroach.

Antibody perturbation experiments on cultured cockroach embryos demonstrated that a localized source of an FGF-2-like immunoreactive molecule in the head is required for the proper growth of pioneer axons in the leg. The study of axon growth in various fragments of cultured embryos and in the presence of various conditioned media showed that FGF-2 is needed to counteract the effects of an inhibitor of axon growth produced in the body trunk of the embryo. Endogenous heparan sulfate proteoglycans mediate these effects of FGF-2 on axon growth. The results of experiments with FGF-2 and/or body trunk axon growth inhibitor added to the culture medium indicate that more globally and uniformly distributed molecules may play as important a role in axon guidance as the more spatially restricted guidance cues. The results are interpreted in terms of a model that is consistent with a role for the FGF-2 receptor in axon growth.