A vast number of neural cell surface glycoproteins belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily have been isolated over the past two decades. In functional studies, many of them have been shown to confer adhesive properties to cells and to play an important role in developmental processes such as cell migration and axon outgrowth. Recent observations implicate Ig superfamily adhesion molecules in the regulation of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, in regeneration after neural trauma, as well as in the pathogenesis of malformations in the developing nervous systems.
This book...