New waves in dendritic spine actin cytoskeleton: From branches and bundles to rings, from actin binding proteins to post-translational modifications
Abstract
Dendritic spines are small actin-rich protrusions from neuronal dendrites that form the postsynaptic part of most excitatory synapses. Changes in the number or strength of synapses are physiological mechanisms behind learning. The growth and maturation of dendritic spines and the activity-induced changes to their morphology are all based on changes to the actin cytoskeleton. In this review, we will discuss the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in dendritic spine formation and maturation, as well as in synaptic strengthening. Concerning spine formation, we will focus on spine initiation, which has received less attention in the literature. We will also examine the recently revealed regulation of the actin cytoskeleton through post-translational modifications of actin monomers, in addition to the conventional regulation of actin via actin-binding proteins.
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Most excitatory synapses occur on dendritic spines, which are actin-rich protrusions on dendrites.
“Most excitatory synapses occur on dendritic spines, which are actin-rich protrusions on dendrites (Bertling and Hotulainen, 2017).”
From Dendritic Spine Remodeling and Synaptic Tau Levels in PS19 Tauopathy Mice (2021) · cites this paper as Bertling and Hotulainen, 2017
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Dendritic Spines: Mediators of Cognitive Resilience in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease
Walker, C. K., & Herskowitz, J. H. (2021) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/1073858420945964 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Dendritic Spine Remodeling and Synaptic Tau Levels in PS19 Tauopathy Mice
Walker, C. K., Greathouse, K. M., Boros, B. D., Poovey, E. H., Clearman, K. R., Ramdas, R., Muhammad, H. M., & Herskowitz, J. H. (2021) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.12.006 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bertling, E., & Hotulainen, P.
- Affiliations
- Minerva Foundation (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Hotulainen, Pirta
- ORCID
- Hotulainen, Pirta
- Venue
- Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-10
- Volume
- 84
- Pages
- 77-84
- ISSN
- 1044-7431 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2610463671
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 0.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Academy of Finland (SA 301624)
- Liv och Hälsa Foundation (PH2016)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Keywords
- dendritic spines, actin cytoskeleton, spine formation, spine maturation, synaptic plasticity, actin-binding proteins, synaptic strengthening, learning
- MeSH terms
- Actins, Animals, Humans, Microfilament Proteins, Actin Cytoskeleton, Neuronal Plasticity, Synapses, Dendritic Spines
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