Abstract
Formation, differentiation and plasticity of synapses, the specialized cell-cell contacts through which neurons communicate, all require interactions between pre- and post-synaptic partners. Several synaptically localized adhesion molecules potentially capable of mediating these interactions have been identified recently. Functional studies suggest roles for some of them in target recognition (e.g. SYG-1 and sidekicks), formation and alignment of synaptic specializations (e.g. SynCAM, neuroligin and neurexin), and regulation of synaptic structure and function (e.g. cadherins and syndecan).
Publication types
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
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Review
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence / physiology
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Animals
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Axons / metabolism
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Cadherins / metabolism
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism
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Cell Adhesion Molecules / metabolism*
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Cytoskeleton / metabolism*
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GTP-Binding Proteins / metabolism
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Immunoglobulins / genetics
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Immunoglobulins / metabolism
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Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
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Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism
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Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / genetics
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Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / metabolism
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Protein Structure, Tertiary
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Synapses / metabolism*
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Synaptic Transmission / physiology*
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Synaptic Vesicles / metabolism
Substances
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Bsn protein, rat
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Cadherins
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
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Cell Adhesion Molecules
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Immunoglobulins
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Nerve Tissue Proteins
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Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules
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Rim protein, mammalian
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Rims1 protein, rat
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SYG-1 protein, C elegans
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GTP-Binding Proteins