title: Synaptic adhesion molecules.
abstract: Formation, differentiation and plasticity of synapses, the specialized cell-cell contacts through which neurons communicate, all require interactions between pre- and post-synaptic partners. Several synaptically localized adhesion molecules potentially capable of mediating these interactions have been identified recently. Functional studies suggest roles for some of them in target recognition (e.g. SYG-1 and sidekicks), formation and alignment of synaptic specializations (e.g. SynCAM, neuroligin and neurexin), and regulation of synaptic structure and function (e.g. cadherins and syndecan).
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000378:metabolism*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C113688:Bsn protein, rat; D015820:Cadherins; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules; C107293:Rim protein, mammalian; C491489:Rims1 protein, rat; C473474:SYG-1 protein, C elegans; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins