Rao A, Craig A M
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA.
Hippocampus. 2000;10(5):527-41. doi: 10.1002/1098-1063(2000)10:5<527::AID-HIPO3>3.0.CO;2-B.
The dendritic spine may be considered a fusion of a specialized actin-based structure akin to filopodia and lamellopodia, with an excitatory postsynaptic density containing glutamate receptors and signal-transducing machinery. This specialized neuronal microdomain is the site of the majority of excitatory synaptic contacts in the mammalian brain. Regulation of spine morphology, composition, and stability are likely to contribute to long-lasting changes in synaptic efficacy. Thus, understanding the function and regulation of dendritic spines is a fundamental problem ranging from molecular through behavioral neurobiology. A complete understanding of dendritic spines will require a knowledge of all the molecular components and how these components interact. Here we wish to accomplish two goals: to catalog many of the known components of hippocampal dendritic spines and suggest how these may contribute to spine function; and to compare dendritic spines with other actin-based structures, namely lamellopodia, filopodia, microvilli, and stereocilia, to gain some insight into possible common vs. specialized mechanisms of regulation of the shape, motility, and longevity of these actin-based structures.
树突棘可被视为一种类似于丝状伪足和片状伪足的基于肌动蛋白的特殊结构与含有谷氨酸受体和信号转导机制的兴奋性突触后致密区的融合体。这种特殊的神经元微结构域是哺乳动物大脑中大多数兴奋性突触接触的部位。树突棘形态、组成和稳定性的调节可能有助于突触效能的长期变化。因此，从分子神经生物学到行为神经生物学，理解树突棘的功能和调节是一个基本问题。要全面了解树突棘，需要了解所有分子成分以及这些成分如何相互作用。在这里，我们希望实现两个目标：列出海马体树突棘的许多已知成分，并指出这些成分可能如何对树突棘功能做出贡献；将树突棘与其他基于肌动蛋白的结构，即片状伪足、丝状伪足、微绒毛和静纤毛进行比较，以深入了解这些基于肌动蛋白的结构在形状、运动性和寿命调节方面可能的共同机制与特殊机制。
