Neuronal Recognition PDF
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Neuronal Recognition CURRENT TOPICS IN NEUROBIOLOGY Series Editors: Samuel H. Barondes University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California and Floyd E. Bloom The Salk Institute La Jolla, California Tissue Culture of the Nervous System. 1973 Edited by Gordon Sato Neuronal Recognition. 1976 Edited by Samuel H. Barondes A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher. Neuronal Recognition Edited by Samuel H. Barondes University of California, San Diego Plenum Press· New York and London Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Neuronal recognition. (Current topics in neurobiology) Includes bibliographies and index. 1. Neurons. 2. Cellular recognition. I. Barondes, Samuel H., 1933- [DNLM: 1. Nervous system - Physiology. 2. Neurons - Physiology. WLI02 N4945] QP363.N478 591.1'88 75-45291 ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-2207-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-2205-4 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-2205-4 © 1976 Plenum Press, New York Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1976 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microftlming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher Cont ri but ors SAMUEL H. BARONDES Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California RICHARD P. BUNGE Department of Anatomy Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri CARL W. COTMAN Department of Psychobiology University of California Irvine, California DOUGLAS M. FAMBROUGH Department of Embryology Carnegie Institution of Washington Baltimore, Maryland L. GLASER Department of Biological Chemistry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri G. GOMBOS Centre de Neurochimie du CNRS Strasbourg, France D. I. GOTTLIEB Department of Biological Chemistry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri v vi Contributors MARCUS JACOBSON Department of Physiology and Biophysics University of Miami School of Medicine Miami, Florida GARY S. LYNCH Department of Psychobiology University of California Irvine, California RICHARD B. MARCHASE Department of Biology The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland R. MERRELL Department of Biological Chemistry Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri I. G. MORGAN Department of Behavioural Biology Research School of Biological Sciences Australian National University Canberra, Australia A. A. MOSCONA Departments of Biology and Pathology University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois KARL H. PFENNINGER Section of Cell Biology Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut ROSEMARY P. REES Department of Anatomy Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri STEVEN D. ROSEN Department of Psychiatry School of Medicine University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California Contributors vii STEPHEN ROTH Department of Biology The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland BRYAN P. TOOLE Developmental Biology Laboratory Departments of Medicine and Biological Chemistry Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, Massachusetts Preface An outstanding characteristic of the nervous system is that neurons make selective functional contacts. Each neuron behaves as if it recog nizes the neurons with which it associates and rejects associations with others. The specific interneuronal relationships that result define the innate neuronal circuits that determine the functioning of this system. The purpose of this volume is to present some approaches to the problem of neuronal recognition. The volume has been somewhat arbitrarily divided into three sections. In the first section, the overrid ing theme is the degree of specificity of neuronal recognition. How specific is specific? Is the specificity so precise that the neurites of one neuron will only make synaptic contact with a unique target neuron? If less precise, within what range? Are the rules for specification that are operative in the embryo still operative at the same level of precision when connections regenerate in the mature organism? Are they still operative in dissociated tissue grown in culture? The second section of this volume contains reviews of morphologi cal studies of synaptogenesis and biochemical studies of synaptic com ponents. Can the morphology of developing cellular contacts provide clues about selectivity? Can the chemical components of synaptic junc tions be isolated and characterized? Do they include resolvable compo nents that mediate neuronal recognition? The third section contains studies seeking to identify the existence of specific molecules that might mediate cellular recognition. A major question here is whether molecules of this type even exist. Does the program that controls differentiation of the nervous system operate simply by regulating the time of maturation and outgrowth of neurites from individual neurons? Do these neurites then make contact on a first-come first-serve basis? Or are there specific molecules on the surfaces of neurons which bind selectively and with high affinity only to specific complementary molecules on appropriate target cells? If the latter, how specific is specific? Is synapse formation dependent on vast numbers of unique complementary pairs? Is it dependent on cell ix x Preface surface differences in amounts of complementary substances? Is this problem best studied with nervous system tissue or with other more homogeneous vertebrate tissues which appear to display cellular recognition properties? Are simple eukaryotes that display cellular recognition, such as cellular slime molds, useful experimental tools for studying this problem? The authors of this volume provide tentative answers to many of these questions. It appears that the questions are neither premature nor hopelessly complex. Systems and strategies are being developed to resolve them. The problem of neuronal recognition is difficult-but solvable. La Jolla, California SAMUEL H. BARONDES
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