Fibrous Viscoelastic Extracellular Matrix Assists Precise Neuronal Connectivity (Adv. Funct. Mater. 36/2023)

Axon Pathfinding In article number 2301926, Qihui Fan, Fangfu Ye, and co-workers show that the mechanical signals transmitted through the fibrous extracellular matrix enable precise guidance of axons and neuronal cells towards target neurites, leading to highly efficient neural network formation. This precise axon guidance mechanism is associated with the activation of mechanosensitive ion channels, calcium signals, and subsequent F-actin assembly.