Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, Japan.
Cytoskeleton (Hoboken). 2012 Aug;69(8):545-54. doi: 10.1002/cm.21037. Epub 2012 May 22.
Most excitatory synapses reside on small protrusions located on the dendritic shaft of neurons called dendritic spines. Neuronal activity regulates the number and structure of spines in both developing and mature brains. Such morphological changes are mediated by the modification of the actin cytoskeleton, the major structural component of spines. Because the number and size of spines is tightly correlated with the strength of synaptic transmission, the activity-dependent structural remodeling of a spine plays an important role in the modulation of synaptic transmission. The regulation of spine morphogenesis utilizes multiple intracellular signaling pathways that alter the dynamics of actin remodeling. Here, we will review recent studies examining the signaling pathways underlying activity-dependent actin remodeling at excitatory postsynaptic neurons.
大多数兴奋性突触位于神经元树突干上的小突起上，称为树突棘。神经元活动调节发育中和成熟脑中的棘突数量和结构。这种形态变化是通过肌动蛋白细胞骨架的修饰来介导的，肌动蛋白细胞骨架是棘突的主要结构成分。由于棘突的数量和大小与突触传递的强度密切相关，因此棘突的活性依赖性结构重塑在突触传递的调节中起着重要作用。棘突形态发生的调节利用多种细胞内信号通路来改变肌动蛋白重塑的动力学。在这里，我们将回顾最近的研究，这些研究检查了兴奋性突触后神经元中活性依赖性肌动蛋白重塑的信号通路。
