# BOC and CDON proteins drive Sonic Hedgehog cytoneme elongation in cells and developing mouse spinal cord

- Published: 2026-11-13 06:11 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Biology & biochemistry
- Tags: Sonic Hedgehog cytonemes, BOC and CDON proteins, FARP1, Cdc42 activity, actin-based protrusions, neuroepithelial cytonemes, neuronal cell fate, mouse spinal cord imaging
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-c51c5d9d553f96e9001d32eb_boc_and_cdon/

**Authors report that the adhesion-related proteins recruit actin regulators FARP1 and Cdc42 to protrusions; losing CDON in mouse spinal cord altered neuronal fate specification.**

![BOC and CDON proteins drive Sonic Hedgehog cytoneme elongation in cells and developing mouse spinal cord](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/8258a8ccd29cb65d.jpg)
*Korinna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0*

Researchers describe in Science Advances how Sonic Hedgehog (SHH)-producing cells form cytonemes, actin-based protrusions that carry signaling cargoes in a directed way through contact between cells [1]. The work focused on the cell adhesion molecule-related proteins BOC and CDON, which bind SHH. How pathway-specific cytonemes are formed, and how actin is organized for their elongation and stability, had been poorly understood.

According to the authors, BOC and CDON are repurposed as recruiters of the actin regulators FARP1 and Cdc42, which drive cytoneme elongation [1]. Loss of BOC and CDON function reduced Cdc42 activity in the protrusions, shortened the cytonemes and lowered their occurrence in SHH-expressing cells [1].

Live imaging of developing murine spinal cords showed that loss of CDON in SHH-expressing cells reduced the frequency of neuroepithelial cytonemes and altered neuronal cell fate specification [1]. The authors propose a model in which SHH-binding proteins promote ligand transport by stimulating the formation of long cytonemes.

## Sources

1. [Science Advances](https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aei4501)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-c51c5d9d553f96e9001d32eb_boc_and_cdon/