spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

First published online January 10, 2007
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/jcs.03337

Journal of Cell Science 120, 205-212 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Schubert, V.
Right arrow Articles by Dotti, C. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Schubert, V.
Right arrow Articles by Dotti, C. G.

Commentary

Transmitting on actin: synaptic control of dendritic architecture

Vanessa Schubert1 and Carlos G. Dotti2

1 Cavalieri Ottolenghi Scientific Institute, Universita degli Studi di Torino, A.O. San Luigi Gonzaga, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano (Torino), Italy
2 Department of Human Genetics, Catholic University of Leuven and Department of Developmental and Molecular Genetics, Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology (VIB11), Heerestraat 43, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

Authors for correspondence (e-mail: vanessa.schubert{at}unito.it; carlos.dotti{at}med.kuleuven.be)

Accepted 13 November 2006

Excitatory synaptic transmission in the central nervous system mainly takes place at dendritic spines, highly motile protrusions on the dendritic surface. Depending on the stimuli received, dendritic spines undergo rapid actin-based changes in their morphology. This plasticity appears to involve signaling through numerous proteins that control the organization of the actin cytoskeleton (actin regulators). At least in part, recruitment and activation of these depends on neurotransmitter receptors at the post-synapse, which directly link neurotransmission to changes in dendritic spine architecture. However, other, non-neurotransmitter-receptors present at dendritic spines also participate. It is likely that several receptor types can control the activity of a single actin-regulatory pathway and it is the complex integration of numerous signals that determines the overall architecture of a dendritic spine.

Key words: Dendritic spine, Actin cytoskeleton, Rho GTPase, Plasticity, Excitatory synapse, Neurotransmitter receptor




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
B. Racz and R. J. Weinberg
Organization of the Arp2/3 Complex in Hippocampal Spines
J. Neurosci., May 28, 2008; 28(22): 5654 - 5659.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
H. Lee, S. J. Raiker, K. Venkatesh, R. Geary, L. A. Robak, Y. Zhang, H. H. Yeh, P. Shrager, and R. J. Giger
Synaptic Function for the Nogo-66 Receptor NgR1: Regulation of Dendritic Spine Morphology and Activity-Dependent Synaptic Strength
J. Neurosci., March 12, 2008; 28(11): 2753 - 2765.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Pathol.Home page
T. L. Spires-Jones, M. Meyer-Luehmann, J. D. Osetek, P. B. Jones, E. A. Stern, B. J. Bacskai, and B. T. Hyman
Impaired Spine Stability Underlies Plaque-Related Spine Loss in an Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model
Am. J. Pathol., October 1, 2007; 171(4): 1304 - 1311.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007