Cell Biology Department, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
Matrix Biol. 2012 Apr;31(3):170-7. doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2012.01.004. Epub 2012 Jan 21.
Thrombospondins (TSPs) are a family of large, oligomeric multidomain glycoproteins that participate in a variety of biological functions as part of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Through their associations with a number of binding partners, TSPs mediate complex cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in such diverse processes as angiogenesis, inflammation, osteogenesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. It was recently shown in the developing central nervous system (CNS) that TSPs promote the formation of new synapses, which are the unique cell-cell adhesions between neurons in the brain. This increase in synaptogenesis is mediated by the interaction between astrocyte-secreted TSPs and their neuronal receptor, calcium channel subunit α2δ-1. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie induction of synaptogenesis via this interaction are yet to be fully elucidated. This review will focus on what is known about TSP and synapse formation during development, possible roles for TSP following brain injury, and what the previously established actions of TSP in other biological tissues may tell us about the mechanisms underlying TSP's functions in CNS synaptogenesis.
血栓反应蛋白（TSPs）是一组大型寡聚多功能糖蛋白家族，作为细胞外基质（ECM）的一部分，参与多种生物学功能。通过与许多结合伴侣的相互作用，TSPs 介导了血管生成、炎症、成骨、细胞增殖和细胞凋亡等多种不同过程中的复杂细胞-细胞和细胞-基质相互作用。最近在发育中的中枢神经系统（CNS）中发现，TSPs 促进新突触的形成，而新突触是大脑中神经元之间独特的细胞-细胞黏附。这种突触形成的增加是由星形胶质细胞分泌的 TSPs 与其神经元受体钙通道亚基 α2δ-1 之间的相互作用介导的。通过这种相互作用诱导突触形成的细胞和分子机制尚未完全阐明。这篇综述将重点介绍在发育过程中 TSP 和突触形成方面的已知知识，TSP 在脑损伤后的可能作用，以及 TSP 在其他生物组织中的先前确立的作用可能告诉我们 TSP 在中枢神经系统突触形成中的作用机制。
