AI Article Synopsis
- Advances in understanding neuronal connectivity highlight the transition from single molecular factors to recognizing the complex interactions in real-life biological systems.
- Recent research emphasizes the importance of the extracellular matrix, particularly heparan sulfate proteoglycans, in regulating neuronal connections.
- These proteoglycans serve as dynamic scaffolds that shape external signals and influence how neurons interpret their environment.
Article Abstract
With the identification of the molecular determinants of neuronal connectivity, our understanding of the extracellular information that controls axon guidance and synapse formation has evolved from single factors towards the complexity that neurons face in a living organism. As we move in this direction - ready to see the forest for the trees - attention is returning to one of the most ancient regulators of cell-cell interaction: the extracellular matrix. Among many matrix components that influence neuronal connectivity, recent studies of the heparan sulfate proteoglycans suggest that these ancient molecules function as versatile extracellular scaffolds that both sculpt the landscape of extracellular cues and modulate the way that neurons perceive the world around them.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2006.01.011 | DOI Listing |
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