Cytoskeleton of the Nervous System
Without a cytoskeleton, a neuron or glial cell would be a shapeless jelly mass unable to function in the milieu of the brain. If we are to understand neuronal cells function in health and disease, we must determine how the cytoskeleton forms and contribut
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Series Editor Abel Lajtha
For further volumes, go to http://www.springer.com/series/8787
Ralph A. Nixon · Aidong Yuan Editors
Cytoskeleton of the Nervous System
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Editors Ralph A. Nixon Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
Aidong Yuan Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA
ISSN 2190-5215 e-ISSN 2190-5223 ISBN 978-1-4419-6786-2 e-ISBN 978-1-4419-6787-9 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-6787-9 Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of going to press, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Paul Wintrebert, a French embryologist, was the first to introduce the concept and the term of cytoskeleton (cytosquelette in French) in 1931. Since then, much has been learned about the organization and structure of the cytoskeleton in many types of cells. In no cell is the cytoskeleton more complex and well developed than in the nervous system, where the remarkable polarity of neurons and the extensive process formation in several types of glial cells are especially reliant on this superstructure. The Cytoskeleton of the Nervous System is intended to help bring together key advances from the enormous body of information relevant specifically to the cytoskeleton in the nervous system. The cytoskeleton of neurons is comprised of three main components - microtubules, neurofilaments, and actin filaments - which are important for axonal transport along long distances, establishing the uniquely polar cellular shapes, and providing a scaffold for regulating the topography and function of axonal and synaptic proteins and organelles. Alterations of cytoskeleton function in neurons are linked to the development of major neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and a host of others. Glial fibrillary acidic protein replaces neurofilaments an
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