The Cxcl14 chemokine defines pioneer axon guidance and early circuit assembly in the inner ear.

Loss of Cxcl14 disrupts pioneer axon navigation in the inner ear, compromising synaptic organization in hair cells and impairing mechanosensory-based behavior.

• Why it matters: Inner ear wiring depends on coordinated axon guidance, migration, and target recognition, but how pioneer cells instruct early circuit assembly is unclear.
• What they did: Using high spatiotemporal imaging, the study tracks pioneer axons and identifies Cxcl14 as an instructive cue regulating axon extension, turning, and fasciculation at discrete decision points.
• The result: Pioneer axons form a scaffold that targets early-born hair cells and coordinates follower axon growth and migration; Cxcl14 loss breaks this guidance-to-circuit link.

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