Topic: proteoglycan

The brain extracellular matrix (ECM) is a lattice-like structure that occupies the intercellular space in the central nervous system (CNS). The ECM constituents are extremely long-lived and are widely believed to stabilize neurons and synapses in the brain. They are thought to be renewed only rarely, dependent on neuronal activity, by the activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that cleave the existing ECM components, followed by de novo ECM protein synthesis. However, various studies have demonstrated that synapses change their structural organization on minutes to hours time scale, ca