Deller Thomas, Bas Orth Carlos, Del Turco Domenico, Vlachos Andreas, Burbach Guido J, Drakew Alexander, Chabanis Sophie, Korte Martin, Schwegler Herbert, Haas Carola A, Frotscher Michael
Institute of Clinical Neuroanatomy, J.W. Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, D-60590 Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
Ann Anat. 2007;189(1):5-16. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2006.06.013.
Spines are considered sites of synaptic plasticity in the brain and are capable of remodeling their shape and size. A molecule thathas been implicated in spine plasticity is the actin-associated protein synaptopodin. This article will review a series of studies aimed at elucidating the role of synaptopodin in the rodent brain. First, the developmental expression of synaptopodin mRNA and protein were studied; secondly, the subcellular localization of synaptopodin in hippocampal principal neurons was analyzed using confocal microscopy as well as electron microscopy and immunogold labelling; and, finally, the functional role of synaptopodin was investigated using a synaptopodin-deficient mouse. The results of these studies are: (1) synaptopodin expression byhippocampal principal neurons develops during the first postnatal weeks and increases in parallel with the maturation of spines in the hippocampus. (2) Synaptopodin is sorted to the spine compartment, where it is tightly associated with the spine apparatus, an enigmatic organelle believed to be involved in calcium storage or local protein synthesis. (3) Synaptopodin-deficient mice generated by gene targeting are viable but lack the spine apparatus organelle. These mice show deficitsin synaptic plasticity as well as impaired learning and memory. Taken together, these data implicate synaptopodin and the spine apparatus in the regulation of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. Future studies will be aimed at finding the molecular link between synaptopodin, the spine apparatus organelle, and synaptic plasticity.
棘突被认为是大脑中突触可塑性的位点，并且能够重塑其形状和大小。一种与棘突可塑性有关的分子是肌动蛋白相关蛋白突触素。本文将综述一系列旨在阐明突触素在啮齿动物大脑中作用的研究。首先，研究了突触素mRNA和蛋白质的发育表达；其次，使用共聚焦显微镜、电子显微镜以及免疫金标记分析了突触素在海马体主要神经元中的亚细胞定位；最后，使用突触素缺陷型小鼠研究了突触素的功能作用。这些研究的结果如下：（1）海马体主要神经元中的突触素表达在出生后的头几周内发育，并随着海马体中棘突的成熟而平行增加。（2）突触素被分选到棘突区室，在那里它与棘器紧密相关，棘器是一种神秘的细胞器，被认为参与钙储存或局部蛋白质合成。（3）通过基因靶向产生的突触素缺陷型小鼠是有活力的，但缺乏棘器细胞器。这些小鼠表现出突触可塑性缺陷以及学习和记忆受损。综上所述，这些数据表明突触素和棘器参与了海马体中突触可塑性的调节。未来的研究将致力于寻找突触素、棘器细胞器和突触可塑性之间的分子联系。
