The role of the microtubule cytoskeleton and plus‐end tracking proteins in neuronal morphogenesis and synaptic plasticity

Abstract

Neurons owe their unique ability to interconnect to their highly polarized cellular morphology. As in non-neuronal cells, the cytoskeleton and its interactors are primary molecular determinants of cell shape and polarity in neurons. It is therefore not surprising that numerous studies have established a critical role for the cytoskeleton in neurons and thus in the development and maintenance of neuronal networks. In this review, we focus primarily on the mammalian nervous system. We review functions of the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton in neuronal development and synaptic plasticity. Moreover, we focus on a subset of MT plus-end tracking proteins (+TIPs) that contain a conserved motif, which allows them to hitchhike on polymerizing MT ends. We consider their status as potent regulators of MT behavior in neurons and look into a number of recently identified hitchhiking +TIPs enriched in brain tissue.