Cell Adhesion Molecules in Synapse Formation
- Philip Washbourne1,
- Alexander Dityatev2,
- Peter Scheiffele3,
- Thomas Biederer4,
- Joshua A. Weiner5,
- Karen S. Christopherson6, and
- Alaa El-Husseini7
- 1Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, 2Centre for Molecular Neurobiology, Medical University of Hamburg, D-20246 Hamburg, Germany, 3Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, 4Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, 5Department of Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, 6Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, and 7Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z3
Abstract
Neuronal transmission relies on signals transmitted through a vast array of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal synaptic connections. How do axons communicate with dendrites to build synapses, and what molecules regulate this interaction? There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) provide much of the information required for synapse formation. This review highlights the molecular mechanisms used by CAMs to regulate presynaptic and postsynaptic differentiation.
- Received August 14, 2004.
- Revision received September 3, 2004.
- Accepted September 6, 2004.
