Nature Neuroscience6, 1194 - 1200 (2003)
Published online: 12 October 2003; | doi:10.1038/nn1135
Activity-induced targeting of profilin and stabilization of dendritic spine morphology
Manuel Ackermann
& Andrew Matus
Friedrich Miescher Institute, Box 2543, 4002 Basel, Switzerland.
Correspondence should be addressed to Andrew Matus aim@fmi.ch
Morphological changes in dendritic spines have been implicated in connective plasticity in brain circuitry, but the underlying pathway leading from synaptic transmission to structural change is unknown. Using primary neurons expressing GFP-tagged proteins, we found that profilin, a regulator of actin polymerization, is targeted to spine heads when postsynaptic NMDA receptors are activated and that actin-based changes in spine shape are concomitantly blocked. Profilin targeting was triggered by electrical stimulation patterns known to induce the long-term changes in synaptic responsiveness associated with memory formation. These results suggest that, in addition to electrophysiological changes, NMDA receptor activation initiates changes in the actin cytoskeleton of dendritic spines that stabilize synaptic structure.
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