BDNF signaling during the lifetime of dendritic spines
- PDF / 825,609 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 88 Downloads / 169 Views
REVIEW
BDNF signaling during the lifetime of dendritic spines Marta Zagrebelsky 1,2 & Charlotte Tacke 1 & Martin Korte 1,2 Received: 28 February 2020 / Accepted: 27 April 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Dendritic spines are tiny membrane specialization forming the postsynaptic part of most excitatory synapses. They have been suggested to play a crucial role in regulating synaptic transmission during development and in adult learning processes. Changes in their number, size, and shape are correlated with processes of structural synaptic plasticity and learning and memory and also with neurodegenerative diseases, when spines are lost. Thus, their alterations can correlate with neuronal homeostasis, but also with dysfunction in several neurological disorders characterized by cognitive impairment. Therefore, it is important to understand how different stages in the life of a dendritic spine, including formation, maturation, and plasticity, are strictly regulated. In this context, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), belonging to the NGF-neurotrophin family, is among the most intensively investigated molecule. This review would like to report the current knowledge regarding the role of BDNF in regulating dendritic spine number, structure, and plasticity concentrating especially on its signaling via its two often functionally antagonistic receptors, TrkB and p75NTR. In addition, we point out a series of open points in which, while the role of BDNF signaling is extremely likely conclusive, evidence is still missing. Keywords Brain-derived neurotrophic factor . Dendritic spines . Neurotrophin . TrkB . p75NTR
Introduction Since their first description by Ramon y Cajal (yCajal 1891), dendritic spines have been postulated to be involved in regulating the communication between neurons. Indeed, these tiny membranous protrusions, emerging from the dendrites of most principal neurons, are the postsynaptic site of the majority of excitatory glutamatergic synapses in the brain (Gray 1959). Dendritic spines consist of a bulbous head, containing the postsynaptic density and connected to the dendrite via a thin and long neck. Dendritic spines serve as compartments in which calcium (Muller and Connor 1991) and biochemical (Guthrie et al. 1991) and electrical signals (Araya et al. 2006; Grunditz et al. 2008) are confined during glutamatergic transmission, shaping synaptic transmission. * Marta Zagrebelsky [email protected] * Martin Korte [email protected] 1
Division of Cellular Neurobiology, Zoological Institute, TU Braunschweig, Spielmannstr 7, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
2
Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, AG NIND, Inhoffenstr. 7, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany
Dendritic spines come in diverse sizes and morphologies especially regarding head volume, spine neck lengths, and thickness and are commonly classified, according to these criteria in three groups, i.e., stubby, thin, and mushroom spines (Peters and Kaiserman-Abramof 1969), possibly reflecting different functions. The size of the spine head scales with
Data Loading...