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Inducing Dendritic Growth in Cultured Sympathetic Neurons
Published on: March 21, 2012
Shaping dendrites with machinery borrowed from epithelia.
Ian G McLachlan1, Maxwell G Heiman
1Division of Genetics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, United States; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|July 23, 2013
Summary
Sensory cell and neuronal dendrite development utilize shared adhesion molecules. Understanding epithelial morphogenesis may illuminate neuronal dendrite shaping mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Sensory cell receptive endings and neuronal dendrites are shaped by cell adhesion.
- These adhesive interactions involve molecular machinery also found in epithelial cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the shared molecular machinery between sensory cell/neuronal development and epithelial morphogenesis.
- To propose epithelial morphogenesis as a model for understanding dendrite development.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on cell adhesion molecules in sensory cells, neurons, and epithelia.
- Comparative analysis of molecular components involved in morphogenesis.
Main Results:
- Shared adhesion molecules include the Crumbs complex, tight junction proteins (e.g., claudins), cadherins, catenins, and others.
- Apical extracellular matrix proteins like zona pellucida domain proteins are involved in sensory cell shaping.
- Neuronal dendrite shaping involves L1CAM, CHL1, Sidekicks, Contactin, and Caspr, among others.
Conclusions:
- A significant overlap exists in the adhesion machinery governing sensory cell and neuronal dendrite morphogenesis.
- Epithelial morphogenesis mechanisms offer a potential framework for deciphering neuronal dendrite development.
