1932

Abstract

The actin cytoskeleton plays a major role in morphological development of neurons and in structural changes of adult neurons. This article reviews the myriad functions of actin and myosin in axon initiation, growth, guidance and branching, in morphogenesis of dendrites and dendritic spines, in synapse formation and stability, and in axon and dendrite retraction. Evidence is presented that signaling pathways involving the Rho family of small GTPases are key regulators of actin polymerization and myosin function in the context of different aspects of neuronal morphogenesis. These studies support an emerging theme: Different aspects of neuronal morphogenesis may involve regulation of common core signaling pathways, in particular the Rho GTPases.

Keyword(s): axondendriteRho GTPasessignalingsynapse
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.cellbio.18.031802.150501
2002-11-01
2024-03-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.cellbio.18.031802.150501
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.cellbio.18.031802.150501
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error