They're plastic, but they recycle.
Dendritic spines form and grow during hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). In this issue of Neuron, a new study by Park et al. uses both serial reconstruction electron microscopy and time-lapse imaging to show that plasma membrane for such spine expansion is trafficked from recycling endosomes that reside locally at the spines themselves.
Halpain
Shelley
S
Department of Cell Biology and Institute for Childhood & Neglected Diseases, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000502:physiology*; D011992:Endosomes / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology
D000199:Actins