首页 | 本学科首页   官方微博 | 高级检索  
   检索      


Neuronal sub‐compartmentalization: a strategy to optimize neuronal function
Authors:Alessandra Donato  Konstantinos Kagias  Yun Zhang  Massimo A Hilliard
Abstract:Neurons are highly polarized cells that consist of three main structural and functional domains: a cell body or soma, an axon, and dendrites. These domains contain smaller compartments with essential roles for proper neuronal function, such as the axonal presynaptic boutons and the dendritic postsynaptic spines. The structure and function of these compartments have now been characterized in great detail. Intriguingly, however, in the last decade additional levels of compartmentalization within the axon and the dendrites have been identified, revealing that these structures are much more complex than previously thought. Herein we examine several types of structural and functional sub‐compartmentalization found in neurons of both vertebrates and invertebrates. For example, in mammalian neurons the axonal initial segment functions as a sub‐compartment to initiate the action potential, to select molecules passing into the axon, and to maintain neuronal polarization. Moreover, work in Drosophila melanogaster has shown that two distinct axonal guidance receptors are precisely clustered in adjacent segments of the commissural axons both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting a cell‐intrinsic mechanism underlying the compartmentalized receptor localization. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a subset of interneurons exhibits calcium dynamics that are localized to specific sections of the axon and control the gait of navigation, demonstrating a regulatory role of compartmentalized neuronal activity in behaviour. These findings have led to a number of new questions, which are important for our understanding of neuronal development and function. How are these sub‐compartments established and maintained? What molecular machinery and cellular events are involved? What is their functional significance for the neuron? Here, we reflect on these and other key questions that remain to be addressed in this expanding field of biology.
Keywords:unipolar neurons  polarization  compartmentalization  patterning  neuronal development  neuronal activity  axonal and dendritic sub‐compartments
设为首页 | 免责声明 | 关于勤云 | 加入收藏

Copyright©北京勤云科技发展有限公司  京ICP备09084417号