Relay of cyclin-dependent kinases in the regulation of axonal growth.

One of the most perplexing problems in neuronal morphogenesis is how local polarity signals echo genetic instructions to establish structural and functional asymmetry of neuronal compartments, i.e., axons, dendrites, and synapses. However studying these phenomena is complicated because both genes and the local environment influence the phenotype of developing neurons. Cell cycle-associated nuclear transcription regulators involved in axon extension, for example Cdk12 and Cdk13, thus provide ideal models for connecting spatially separated events at specific developmental time points.