RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 mRNA at the synapse: analysis of a synaptosomal preparation enriched in hippocampal dendritic spines
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 4054
OP 4063
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.13-09-04054.1993
VO 13
IS 9
A1 ME Chicurel
A1 DM Terrian
A1 H Potter
YR 1993
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/13/9/4054.abstract
AB Previous studies have demonstrated that the branched spines of the mossy fiber-CA3 hippocampal synapse contain a particularly large number of polyribosomes (Chicurel and Harris, 1989, 1992). We analyzed a preparation of synaptosomes isolated from this region and have found it to contain a restricted RNA population: certain mRNAs, presumably derived from the dendritic spines and the fine astrocytic processes surrounding the pre- and postsynaptic elements of the synapse, are enriched in the synaptosome preparation as compared to the total hippocampus; other mRNAs are less prevalent or altogether absent. In addition, neural BC1, a small noncoding RNA thought to be involved in pre- or posttranslational regulatory processes in dendrites, is a major RNA component of the dendritic spine. These results support the hypothesis that local translational regulation of gene expression may be important in establishing and modulating synaptic function.