DCC association with lipid rafts is required for netrin-1-mediated axon guidance

During development, axons migrate long distances in responses to attractive or repulsive signals that are detected by their growth cones. One of these signals is mediated by netrin-1, a diffusible laminin-related molecule that both attracts and repels growth cones via interaction with its receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer). Here we show that DCC in both commissural neurons and immortalized cells, is partially associated with cholesterol- and sphingolipid-enriched membrane domains named lipid rafts. This localization of DCC in lipid rafts is mediated by the palmitoylation within its transmembrane region. Moreover, this raft localization of DCC is required for netrin-1-induced DCC-dependent ERK activation, and netrin-1-mediated axon outgrowth requires lipid raft integrity. Thus, the presence of axon guidance-related receptors in lipid rafts appears to be a crucial pre-requisite for growth cone response to chemo-attractive or repulsive cues.