Think globally, act locally: local translation and synapse formation in cultured Aplysia neurons.
Synapse formation is initiated by cell-cell contact between appropriate pre- and postsynaptic cells and is followed by recruitment of protein complexes in both pre- and postsynaptic compartments. In this issue of Neuron, Lyles et al. show that in cultured Aplysia neurons, clustering of an mRNA at nascent synapses is not only induced by the recognition between synaptic partners, but is also required for further synaptic development and maintenance.
Shen
Kang
K
Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
D000818:Animals; D001048:Aplysia / Q000166:cytology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D008954:Models, Biological; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*