Emerging evidence implicating a role for neurexins in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders
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Date
2021Author
Cuttler, Katelyn
Hassan, Maryam
Carr, Jonathan
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Show full item recordAbstract
Synaptopathies are brain disorders characterized by dysfunctional synapses,
which are specialized junctions between neurons that are essential for the transmission of information. Synaptic dysfunction can occur due to mutations that
alter the structure and function of synaptic components or abnormal expression
levels of a synaptic protein. One class of synaptic proteins that are essential to
their biology are cell adhesion proteins that connect the pre- and post-synaptic
compartments. Neurexins are one type of synaptic cell adhesion molecule that
have, recently, gained more pathological interest. Variants in both neurexins
and their common binding partners, neuroligins, have been associated with
several neuropsychiatric disorders. In this review, we summarize some of the
key physiological functions of the neurexin protein family and the
protein networks they are involved in. Furthermore, examination of published
literature has implicated neurexins in both neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.