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. 2004 Apr;7(4):357-63.
doi: 10.1038/nn1212. Epub 2004 Mar 21.

Stability of dendritic spines and synaptic contacts is controlled by alpha N-catenin

Kentaro Abe  1 , Osamu Chisaka, Frans Van Roy, Masatoshi Takeichi
Affiliations

Stability of dendritic spines and synaptic contacts is controlled by alpha N-catenin

Kentaro Abe et al. Nat Neurosci. 2004 Apr.

Abstract

Morphological plasticity of dendritic spines and synapses is thought to be crucial for their physiological functions. Here we show that alpha N-catenin, a linker between cadherin adhesion receptors and the actin cytoskeleton, is essential for stabilizing dendritic spines in rodent hippocampal neurons in culture. In the absence of alpha N-catenin, spine heads were abnormally motile, actively protruding filopodia from their synaptic contact sites. Conversely, alpha N-catenin overexpression in dendrites reduced spine turnover, causing an increase in spine and synapse density. Tetrodotoxin (TTX), a neural activity blocker, suppressed the synaptic accumulation of alpha N-catenin, whereas bicuculline, a GABA antagonist, promoted it. Furthermore, excess alpha N-catenin rendered spines resistant to the TTX treatment. These results suggest that alpha N-catenin is a key regulator for the stability of synaptic contacts.

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