Hugel, S., Abegg, M., De Paola, V., Caroni, P., Gahwiler, B. H., McKinney, R. A. (March 2009) Dendritic Spine Morphology Determines Membrane-Associated Protein Exchange between Dendritic Shafts and Spine Heads. Cerebral Cortex, 19 (3). pp. 697-702. ISSN 1047-3211
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine whether variability in the shape of dendritic spines affects protein movement within the plasma membrane. Using a combination of confocal microscopy and the fluorescence loss in photobleaching technique in living hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons expressing membrane-linked GFP, we observed a clear correlation between spine shape parameters and the diffusion and compartmentalization of membrane-associated proteins. The kinetics of membrane-linked GFP exchange between the dendritic shaft and the spine head compartment were slower in dendritic spines with long necks and/or large heads than in those with short necks and/or small heads. Furthermore, when the spine area was reduced by eliciting epileptiform activity, the kinetics of protein exchange between the spine compartments exhibited a concomitant decrease. As synaptic plasticity is considered to involve the dynamic flux by lateral diffusion of membrane-bound proteins into and out of the synapse, our data suggest that spine shape represents an important parameter in the susceptibility of synapses to undergo plastic change.
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