Neural Plasticity

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Synaptopathies


Status
Published

1Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

2Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

3Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain

4The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

5Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy


Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Synaptopathies

Description

The integrity and functionality of synaptic contacts are essential for neuronal communication and they depend on the molecular repertoire of synaptic proteins. Advances in proteomic analysis of synapses have revealed a great complexity in composition, organization, and interaction of the synaptic proteins, which work together to support many varied functions including synaptic assembly, stability, maturation, and transmission. Mutations in genes encoding synaptic proteins are implicated in human neurological diseases, including neurodevelopmental and psychiatric and as well as neurodegenerative disorders. A common feature observed in these different pathologies is the disruption of synaptic morphology and function, which has led to the term “Synaptopathies” to indicate these disorders. Strikingly, many of the synaptopathy-associated genes encode proteins with known roles in synaptic and neural plasticity.

Several transgenic mice lines harboring mutations identified in human synaptic proteins linked to disease have been developed to model a variety of synaptopathies and have yielded a wealth of information about their underlying mechanisms. In particular, considerable attention has been focused on synaptopathies whose onset and progression are due to mutations of synaptic proteins linked to autism spectrum disorder. However, despite the advances in our understanding of the etiology of these synaptopathies, much is still unknown about the molecular interactions underlying synaptic protein networks and the complex signaling pathways activated by synaptic proteins and how they modulate the physiology of neural circuits impacting dynamic processes such as neural plasticity and behavior.

We invite authors to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that seek to address recent advances in our understanding of cellular and molecular aspects of synaptic mechanisms involved in different synaptopathic disorders.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Identification and characterization of novel genes and mutations with functional roles at synapses linked to neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases
  • Gene-environment interaction on synaptic level
  • Key modulators in synaptic dysfunction mechanisms
  • Adaptive and compensatory mechanisms of synaptic impairments
  • Cytoskeletal dysregulation and synaptic remodeling of critical circuits
  • Aberrant synaptic connectivity in cerebral circuities of synaptopathies
  • The role of neuromodulatory systems on synaptopathies
  • Pharmacological approaches to develop new diagnostic tools and therapies targeting synaptopathies
  • Bioinformatic and proteomic approaches to identify key interactions between synaptic proteins and their relation to disease
  • Latest methodologies and technologies for studying synaptopathies

Articles

  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 2643943
  • - Editorial

Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Synaptopathies

Alvaro O. Ardiles | Andreas M. Grabrucker | ... | Tiziana Borsello
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 6468356
  • - Research Article

Evidence of Presynaptic Localization and Function of the c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase

Silvia Biggi | Lucia Buccarello | ... | Tiziana Borsello
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 8081758
  • - Review Article

Emerging Synaptic Molecules as Candidates in the Etiology of Neurological Disorders

Viviana I. Torres | Daniela Vallejo | Nibaldo C. Inestrosa
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 3436943
  • - Review Article

Could Perinatal Asphyxia Induce a Synaptopathy? New Highlights from an Experimental Model

María Inés Herrera | Matilde Otero-Losada | ... | Francisco Capani
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 6526151
  • - Review Article

Dynamic Control of Synaptic Adhesion and Organizing Molecules in Synaptic Plasticity

Gabby Rudenko
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 2652560
  • - Research Article

Pilocarpine-Induced Status Epilepticus Is Associated with Changes in the Actin-Modulating Protein Synaptopodin and Alterations in Long-Term Potentiation in the Mouse Hippocampus

Maximilian Lenz | Marina Ben Shimon | ... | Nicola Maggio
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2017
  • - Article ID 5012129
  • - Review Article

The Contribution of α-Synuclein Spreading to Parkinson’s Disease Synaptopathy

Francesca Longhena | Gaia Faustini | ... | Arianna Bellucci
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 4672841
  • - Research Article

Early Transcriptional Changes Induced by Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Hippocampal Neurons

Eduardo Pérez-Palma | Víctor Andrade | ... | Giancarlo V. De Ferrari
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 7694385
  • - Research Article

Neuregulin-1 Regulates Cortical Inhibitory Neuron Dendrite and Synapse Growth through DISC1

Brianna K. Unda | Vickie Kwan | Karun K. Singh
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2016
  • - Article ID 3760702
  • - Research Article

Cellular Zinc Homeostasis Contributes to Neuronal Differentiation in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stefanie Pfaender | Karl Föhr | ... | Andreas M. Grabrucker
Neural Plasticity
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