Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 27, Issue 23, Pages 6224-6233Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5062-06.2007
Keywords
structural plasticity; spine; dendrite; prion; somatosensory cortex; two-photon
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Spine loss represents a common hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms, especially the relationship between spine elimination and neuritic destruction. We imaged cortical dendrites throughout a neurodegenerative disease using scrapie in mice as a model. Two-photon in vivo imaging over 2 months revealed a linear decrease of spine density. Interestingly, only persistent spines (lifetime >= 8 d) disappeared, whereas the density of transient spines (lifetime <= 4 d) was unaffected. Before spine loss, dendritic varicosities emerged preferentially at sites where spines protrude from the dendrite. These results implicate that the location where the spine protrudes from the dendrite may be particularly vulnerable and that dendritic varicosities may actually cause spine loss.
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