THE ACTIN CYTOSKELETON: Integrating Form and Function at the Synapse

Abstract

Synapses are highly specialized intercellular junctions that mediate the transmission of information between axons and target cells. A fundamental property of synapses is their ability to modify the efficacy of synaptic communication through various forms of synaptic plasticity. Recent developments in imaging techniques have revealed that synapses exhibit a high degree of morphological plasticity under basal conditions and also in response to neuronal activity that induces alterations in synaptic strength. The underlying molecular basis for this morphological plasticity has attracted much attention, yet its functional significance to the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity remains elusive. These morphological changes ultimately require the dynamic actin cytoskeleton, which is the major structural component of synapses. Delineating the physiological roles of the actin cytoskeleton in supporting synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity, therefore, paves the way for gaining molecular insights into when and how synaptic machineries couple synapse form and function.

Apolipoprotein E and Apolipoprotein E Receptors: Normal Biology and Roles in Alzheimer Disease

“…It activates LIM kinase (LIMK), which inhibits the actin-depolymerizing activity of n-cofilin. The dynamic remodeling of synaptic connections requires constant reorganization of actin filaments (Dillon and Goda 2005). Consequently, postnatal disruption of n-cofilin in mice leads to increased synapse density and enlargement of axospinous synapses (Rust et al 2010) with defects in long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD).…”

α-Synuclein and Its A30P Mutant Affect Actin Cytoskeletal Structure and Dynamics

“…A protein known to play a critical role in neurosecretion (Dillon and Goda, 2005), that may participate in ␣-synuclein action is actin. Actin filaments are involved in the transport of clear and dense-core vesicles along the axon and in their clustering at the plasma membrane sites where exocytosis takes place.…”

Temporal course of gene expression during motor memory formation in primary motor cortex of rats

“…Finally, Actin β (Actb) becomes down-regulated, a protein forming the backbone of the dendritic compartment and spines (Urbanska, Swiech, and Jaworski, 2012). Through dynamic changes, this protein is involved in dendritic and synaptic plasticity, synapse function (Dillon and Goda, 2005) and receptor trafficking (Hanley, 2008). Masked Actin β mRNA and ribosomes are present in neuronal dendrites, allowing a local translation in response to synaptic activity (Buxbaum, Wu, and Singer, 2014).…”