Developmental and postdevelopmental roles of septins in the brain.

Morphogenetic processes during brain development and postdevelopmental remodeling of neural architecture depend on the exquisite interplay between the microtubule- and actin-based cytoskeletal systems. Accumulation of evidence indicates cooperative roles of another cytoskeletal system composed of the septin family. Here we overview experimental findings on mammalian septins and their hypothetical roles in the proliferation of neural progenitor cells, neurite development, synapse formation and regulations. The diverse, mostly unexpected phenotypes obtained from gain- and loss-of-function mutants point to unknown molecular network to be elucidated, which may underlie pathogenetic processes of infectious diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders in humans.