TRPC channels play an essential role in guiding nerve growth cones, discovered by a study team headed by YUAN Xiaobing and WANG Yizheng, both working for the Institute of Neurosciences under the Shanghai Institute of Biological Science, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The finding was published in the March 10 issue of journal Nature.

Chinese researchers made the first observation of extracellular guiding factors, or a protein named brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), using a method to change the direction of growth corns. Researchers found that BDNF is able to open up a TRPC channel, in the course of sending signals to cell membranes, which elevates Ca²⁺ concentration within axonal growth cones. The elevated concentration tends to guide nerve fibers to grow in a direction toward the BDNF of a higher concentration. The finding reveals that TRPC channel activity is essential for nerve-growth-cone guidance by BDNF, giving a new clue for understanding the repairing mechanism of damaged nerve cells.