Building a synapse: lessons on synaptic specificity and presynaptic assembly from the nematode C. elegans.
Synapses are specialized sites of cell contact that mediate information flow between neurons and their targets. Genetic screens in the nematode C. elegans have led to the discovery of a number of molecules required for synapse patterning and assembly. Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of guidepost cells in the positioning of presynaptic sites at specific locations along the axon. Interestingly, these guideposts can promote or inhibit synapse formation, and do so by utilizing transmembrane adhesion molecules or secreted factors that act over relatively larger distances. Once the decision of where to build a presynaptic terminal has been made, key molecules are recruited to assemble synaptic vesicles and active zone proteins at that site. Multiple steps of this process are regulated by ubiquitin ligase complexes. Interestingly, some of the molecules involved in presynaptic assembly also play roles in regulating axon polarity and outgrowth, suggesting that different neurodevelopmental processes are molecularly integrated.
Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5020, USA.
Milica A
MA
Margeta
Kang
K
Shen
Brock
B
Grill
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000235:genetics; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009420:Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*; D043743:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D043743:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligase Complexes