Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Life Science Center, Vilnius University, Sauletekio al. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Via Ramarini 32, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2017 Nov;18(11):658-670. doi: 10.1038/nrn.2017.110. Epub 2017 Sep 21.
The final stage of brain development is associated with the generation and maturation of neuronal synapses. However, the same period is also associated with a peak in synapse elimination - a process known as synaptic pruning - that has been proposed to be crucial for the maturation of remaining synaptic connections. Recent studies have pointed to a key role for glial cells in synaptic pruning in various parts of the nervous system and have identified a set of critical signalling pathways between glia and neurons. At the same time, brain imaging and post-mortem anatomical studies suggest that insufficient or excessive synaptic pruning may underlie several neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, schizophrenia and epilepsy. Here, we review current data on the cellular, physiological and molecular mechanisms of glial-cell-dependent synaptic pruning and outline their potential contribution to neurodevelopmental disorders.
大脑发育的最后阶段与神经元突触的产生和成熟有关。然而，同一时期也与突触消除的高峰期有关，这个过程被称为突触修剪，它被认为对剩余突触连接的成熟至关重要。最近的研究表明，神经胶质细胞在神经系统的各个部位的突触修剪中起着关键作用，并确定了胶质细胞和神经元之间的一套关键信号通路。与此同时，脑成像和死后解剖学研究表明，突触修剪不足或过度可能是包括自闭症、精神分裂症和癫痫在内的几种神经发育障碍的基础。在这里，我们回顾了关于胶质细胞依赖性突触修剪的细胞、生理和分子机制的最新数据，并概述了它们对神经发育障碍的潜在贡献。
