Topic: dendritic arborization

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication and interactions, as well as restricted behaviours. Strikingly most of ASD patients also exhibit aberrant reactivity to sensory stimuli including tactile stimuli. Tactile information is perceived in the periphery and processed in the spinal cord under the control of inhibitory neurons before being sent to higher brain structures. However, whether these inhibitory neurons undergo functional alterations in ASD models remains poorly investigated. To explore the functional plasticity of those neurons in ASD, we

Dendritic branching mechanisms are precisely controlled during brain development, as dendritic architecture provides the specificity and capacity of the synaptic input. Integrin receptors on the neuronal membrane are critical regulators of when and where the dendritic arborization will take place during neuronal differentiation. Integrin activity is not solely dictated by external ligand binding – the receptor's shape and function are also fine-tuned by intracellular binding proteins, including actin-binding protein Filamin A (FlnA). By combining in vitro mouse neuronal cultures with genetic a

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by the progressive and rapid loss of upper and lower motor neurons within the central nervous system. ALS exhibits significant heterogeneity, demonstrating variability in clinical presentation, disease progression, and the neural populations affected. This diversity has historically complicated identifying disease mechanisms and devising universally effective treatments. Organoids derived from patient pluripotent stem cells offer an innovative platform to investigate ALS, by recapitulating the multicellular comp

Semaphorin 3A (SEMA3A) is a repellent guidance cue considered instrumental in many processes that shape the nervous system during development. It is produced as a secreted protein in mammals and exerts both autocrine and paracrine functions. Interestingly, emerging evidence highlights the association of genetic and functional alterations in SEMA3A or its receptors (NRP1 and PLXNA2) with neurodevelopmental disorders. Indeed, increased SEMA3A expression levels have been detected in the brains of patients with schizophrenia, and several mutations in the SEMA3A, NRP1, or PLXNA2 genes have been des

The serotonin 5-HT6 receptor (5-HT6R) is a G protein-coupled receptor only expressed in the central nervous system. It is a promising target for treating cognitive deficits observed in neurodevelopmental diseases, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Our team has demonstrated a crucial role for the 5-HT6R in neurodevelopment. It participates in neuronal migration, the initiation of neurite growth and dendritic arborization, through interactions with different protein partners. We also confirmed that this receptor is mainly expressed in the primary cilium of neurons and astrocytes, except f

While neuronal activity is important for synapse refinement and maintenance, its contribution to synapse formation and dendritic arborization remains unclear. Our previous work in dissociated hippocampal neurons identified a timeframe prior to the establishment of synapses during which spontaneous glutamate release facilitates the branching of dissociated hippocampal neurons by targeting NMDA receptors (NMDARs). We now demonstrate the role of NMDARs in synapse formation and dendritic maturation in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in cultured slices and in vivo. To test whether NMDARs guide sy