Regulation of Dendrite and Spine Morphogenesis and Plasticity by Catenins

The appropriate regulation of dendrite, spine, and synapse morphogenesis in neurons both during and after development is critical for the formation and maintenance of neural circuits. It is becomingly increasingly clear that the cadherin-catenin cell adhesion complex, a complex that has been widely studied in epithelia, regulates neuronal morphogenesis. More interestingly, the catenins, cytosolic proteins that bind to cadherins, regulate multiple aspects of neuronal morphogenesis including dendrite, spine, and synapse morphogenesis and plasticity, both independent of and dependent on their ability to bind cadherins. In this review, we examine some of the more recent and exciting studies that implicate individual catenins in various aspects of neuronal morphogenesis and plasticity.