Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

The ferroxidase ceruloplasmin influences Reelin processing, cofilin phosphorylation and neuronal organization in the developing brain
Publication date: Available online 2 August 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Philippe Ducharme, Juan G. Zarruk, Samuel David, Joanne PaquinAbstractCeruloplasmin (Cp) is an important extracellular regulator of iron metabolism. We showed previously that it stimulates Reelin proteolytic processing and cell aggregation in cultures of developing neurons. Reelin is a secreted protein required for the correct positioning of neurons in the brain. It is cleaved in vivo into N-terminally-derived 300K and 180K fragments through incompletely known mechanisms. One of Reelin signaling targets is the actin-bindin...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - August 3, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Changes in synaptic AMPA receptor concentration and composition in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy
Publication date: Available online 29 July 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Daniel L. Egbenya, Suleman Hussain, Yi-Chen Lai, Jun Xia, Anne E. Anderson, Svend DavangerAbstractExcitotoxicity caused by excessive stimulation of glutamate receptors, resulting in pathologically increased Ca2+-concentrations, is a decisive factor in neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated long-term changes in synaptic contents of AMPA receptor subunits that play important roles in calcium regulation in chronic epilepsy. Such plastic changes may be either adaptive or detrimental. We used a kainic acid (KA)-based rat mo...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 30, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Physiological signature of a novel potentiator of AMPA receptor signalling
Publication date: Available online 22 July 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Blanka R. Szulc, Stephen T. Hilton, Arnaud J. RuizAbstractWe have synthesized a novel small molecule based on the pyrrolidinone–containing core structure of clausenamide, which is a candidate anti–dementia drug. The synthetic route yielded multi–gram quantities of an isomeric racemate mixture in a short number of steps. When tested in hippocampal slices from young adult rats the compound enhanced AMPA receptor–mediated signalling at mossy fibre synapses, and potentiated inward currents evoked by local application of...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 22, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

EphBs and ephrin-Bs: Trans-synaptic organizers of synapse development and function
Publication date: Available online 19 July 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Nathan Henderson, Matthew B. DalvaAbstractSynapses are specialized cell-cell junctions that underlie the function of neural circuits by mediating communication between neurons. Both the formation and function of synapses require tight coordination between pre- and post-synaptic neurons. Trans-synaptic organizing molecules are important mediators of such signaling. Here we discuss how the EphB and ephrin-B families of trans-synaptic organizing proteins direct synapse formation during early development and regulate synaptic f...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 20, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Regulation of AMPA receptor trafficking and exit from the endoplasmic reticulum
Publication date: Available online 12 March 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Joseph E. Pick, Edward B. ZiffAbstractA fundamental property of the brain is its ability to modify its function in response to its own activity. This ability for self-modification depends to a large extent on synaptic plasticity. It is now appreciated that for excitatory synapses, a significant part of synaptic plasticity depends upon changes in the post synaptic response to glutamate released from nerve terminals. Modification of the post synaptic response depends, in turn, on changes in the abundances of AMPA receptors i...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Microtubules and axon regeneration in C. elegans
Publication date: Available online 16 March 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Lizhen ChenAbstractAxon regeneration is a fundamental and conserved process that allows the nervous system to repair circuits after trauma. Due to its conserved genome, transparent body, and relatively simple neuroanatomy, C. elegans has become a powerful model organism for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying axon regeneration. Various studies from different model organisms have found microtubule dynamics to be pivotal to axon regrowth. In this review, we will discuss the latest findings on how microt...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Species-conserved SYNGAP1 phenotypes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders
Publication date: Available online 24 March 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Murat Kilinc, Thomas Creson, Camilo Rojas, Massimiliano Aceti, Jacob Ellegood, Thomas Vaissiere, Jason P. Lerch, Gavin RumbaughAbstractSYNGAP1 loss-of-function variants are causally associated with intellectual disability, severe epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. While there are hundreds of genetic risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), this gene is somewhat unique because of the frequency and penetrance of loss-of-function variants found in patients combined with the range of brain disor...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Mechanisms of neurotrophin trafficking via Trk receptors
Publication date: Available online 27 March 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Emily Scott-Solomon, Rejji KuruvillaAbstractIn neurons, long-distance communication between axon terminals and cell bodies is a critical determinant in establishing and maintaining neural circuits. Neurotrophins are soluble factors secreted by post-synaptic target tissues that retrogradely control axon and dendrite growth, survival, and synaptogenesis of innervating neurons. Neurotrophins bind Trk receptor tyrosine kinases in axon terminals to promote endocytosis of ligand-bound phosphorylated receptors into signaling endo...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Metabotropic glutamate receptor trafficking
Publication date: Available online 29 March 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Young Ho Suh, Kai Chang, Katherine W. RocheAbstractThe metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu receptors) are G protein-coupled receptors that bind to the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and are important in the modulation of neuronal excitability, synaptic transmission, and plasticity in the central nervous system. Trafficking of mGlu receptors in and out of the synaptic plasma membrane is a fundamental mechanism modulating excitatory synaptic function through regulation of receptor abundance, desensitization, and si...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Tetraspanins shape the synapse
Publication date: Available online 6 April 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Luca Murru, Edoardo Moretto, Giuseppe Martano, Maria PassafaroAbstractTetraspanins are a family of proteins largely expressed in mammals. These proteins share very similar structures and are involved in several biological processes spanning from the immune system to cancer growth regulation. Moreover, tetraspanins are scaffold proteins that are able to interact with each other and with a subset of proteins involved in the regulation of the central nervous system, including synapse formation, function and plasticity.In this ...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Trafficking mechanisms of synaptogenic cell adhesion molecules
Publication date: Available online 6 April 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Luís F. Ribeiro, Ben Verpoort, Joris de WitAbstractNearly every aspect of neuronal function, from wiring to information processing, critically depends on the highly polarized architecture of neurons. Establishing and maintaining the distinct molecular composition of axonal and dendritic compartments requires precise control over the trafficking of the proteins that make up these cellular domains. Synaptic cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), membrane proteins with a critical role in the formation, differentiation and plasticity...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

New approaches for solving old problems in neuronal protein trafficking
Publication date: Available online 10 April 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Ashley M. Bourke, Aaron B. Bowen, Matthew J. KennedyAbstractFundamental cellular properties are determined by the repertoire and abundance of proteins displayed on the cell surface. As such, the trafficking mechanisms for establishing and maintaining the surface proteome must be tightly regulated for cells to respond appropriately to extracellular cues, yet plastic enough to adapt to ever-changing environments. Not only are the identity and abundance of surface proteins critical, but in many cases, their regulated spatial ...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Dynamics, nanoscale organization, and function of synaptic adhesion molecules
Publication date: Available online 17 April 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Ingrid Chamma, Olivier ThoumineAbstractSynaptic adhesion molecules not only provide a physical link between pre- and post-synaptic membranes, but also contribute to synaptic differentiation and plasticity by organizing functional elements, in particular neurotransmitter receptors. The wealth of existing adhesive protein families including many isoforms and splice variants, calls for systematic identification of the levels and exchange rates of each of those protein members at specific synapse types. Complementary to electr...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Ankyrins: Roles in synaptic biology and pathology
Publication date: Available online 3 May 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Katharine R. Smith, Peter PenzesAbstractAnkyrins are broadly expressed adaptors that organize diverse membrane proteins into specialized domains and link them to the sub-membranous cytoskeleton. In neurons, ankyrins are known to have essential roles in organizing the axon initial segment and nodes of Ranvier. However, recent studies have revealed novel functions for ankyrins at synapses, where they organize and stabilize neurotransmitter receptors, modulate dendritic spine morphology and control adhesion to the presynaptic si...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research

Autophagy and lysosomal pathways in nervous system disorders
Publication date: Available online 3 May 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Baris BingolAbstractAutophagy is an evolutionarily conserved pathway for delivering cytoplasmic cargo to lysosomes for degradation. In its classically studied form, autophagy is a stress response induced by starvation to recycle building blocks for essential cellular processes. In addition, autophagy maintains basal cellular homeostasis by degrading endogenous substrates such as cytoplasmic proteins, protein aggregates, damaged organelles, as well as exogenous substrates such as bacteria and viruses. Given their important rol...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - July 10, 2018 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research