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PMID: 20452946 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Guidance molecules in synapse formation and plasticity.

Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology ·Vol. 2 ·No. 4 ·2010-04-00 ·Pages a001842

Shen K, Cowan CW

Abstract

A major goal of modern neuroscience research is to understand the cellular and molecular processes that control the formation, function, and remodeling of chemical synapses. In this article, we discuss the numerous studies that implicate molecules initially discovered for their functions in axon guidance as critical regulators of synapse formation and plasticity. Insights from these studies have helped elucidate basic principles of synaptogenesis, dendritic spine formation, and structural and functional synapse plasticity. In addition, they have revealed interesting dual roles for proteins and cellular mechanisms involved in both axon guidance and synaptogenesis. Much like the dual involvement of morphogens in early cell fate induction and axon guidance, many guidance-related molecules continue to play active roles in controlling the location, number, shape, and strength of neuronal synapses during development and throughout the lifetime of the organism. This article summarizes key findings that link axon guidance molecules to specific aspects of synapse formation and plasticity and discusses the emerging relationship between the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control both axon guidance and synaptogenesis.

MeSH Terms
Actins/physiology Animals Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/physiology Neurogenesis/physiology Neuronal Plasticity/physiology Neurons/physiology,ultrastructure Receptor, trkB/physiology Synapses/physiology,ultrastructure
Chemicals
Actins Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Receptor, trkB
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Shen Kang
Department of Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Cowan Christopher W
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Article Info
Journal
Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology
Abbr.
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol
ISSN
1943-0264
DOI
10.1101/cshperspect.a001842
Published
2010-04-00
Epub
2010-00-10
Pages
a001842
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
101513680
PMCID
PMC2845208
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a001842 PMC Full Text View journal details
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