Although much progress has been made in the comprehension of the mechanisms of axon outgrowth and regeneration, guiding navigation of neuronal projections in vivo remain an unmet challenge for science. Controlling axon pathfinding in living organisms has long been the dream of neuroscientists which this project would address. In NEMESIS project, we will use a magneto-switch for re-programming axon pathfinding. The magneto-switches can generate forces at the level of microtubules that triggers a mechanotransduction pathway, resulting in axon elongation and synaptic maturation.
The NEMESIS project will demonstrate the ability to guide axon elongation, counteracting repelling cues, and to control axon navigation in a living organism (e.g., promoting reinnervation of neurons from the brain to the spinal cord). If the project will be successful, the magneto-switch will be a new tool for re-wiring the central nervous system.