Neurodevelopmental Disorders: How Human Cells 'Hold Hands'

The publication of the journal, Neuron, reveals that molecules on the cell membrane connect each cell to the ones around it. A group of genes called gamma-protocadherins encode for the cell adhesion molecules. In the spinal cord, the lack of these genes causes the deaths of neurons and severe loss of synapse.In the cerebral cortex though, these these symptoms do not appear. Instead, the cortical neurons would have a reduced development of dendrites. This led to the discovery that gamma-protocadherins normally inhibit a signaling pathway within neurons that reduce dendrite branching. The absence of these genes caused the pathway to become hyperactive leading to the creation defective branching. If only the cerebral cortex was affected by the lack of these genes not the spinal cord, then the organism would be able to survive into adulthood. This was tested and proven on several laboratory mice. However even in the cerebral cortex, the organism would still be affected by the lack of these genes. It is believed that this is connected to human neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, mental retardation, and schizophrenia.
This article is connected to our last unit on the nervous system. Both the brain and the spinal cord are part of the central nervous system, which is the body's main processing center. Also, dendrites are an essential part of neurons, the most basic unit in the nervous system. Although, this article mainly connects to the nervous system, the disruption in cell processes, such as the defective branching, is a kind of homeostatic imbalance, connecting this piece to the body systems as a whole.
Neurodevelopmental Disorders: How Human Cells 'Hold Hands' website