Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA.
Genes Dev. 2012 Aug 1;26(15):1653-8. doi: 10.1101/gad.199034.112.
Nerve cells form elaborate, highly branched dendritic trees that are optimized for the receipt of synaptic signals. Recent work published in this issue of Genes & Development by Rosario and colleagues (pp. 1743-1757) shows that a Cdc42-specific GTPase-activating protein (NOMA-GAP) regulates the branching of dendrites by neurons in the top layers of the mouse cortex. The results raise interesting questions regarding the specification of arbors in different cortical layers and the mechanisms of dendrite branching.
神经细胞形成精细、高度分支的树突,这些树突经过优化,用于接收突触信号。最近发表在本期《基因与发育》杂志上的一篇文章中,罗萨里奥及其同事(第 1743-1757 页)表明,一种 Cdc42 特异性 GTP 酶激活蛋白(NOMA-GAP)调节了小鼠大脑皮层上层神经元的树突分支。该结果提出了关于不同皮层层树突分支的特异性和树突分支机制的有趣问题。