The actin cytoskeleton plays a major role in morphological development of neurons and in structural changes of adult neurons. This article reviews the myriad functions of actin and myosin in axon initiation, growth, guidance and branching, in morphogenesis of dendrites and dendritic spines, in synapse formation and stability, and in axon and dendrite retraction. Evidence is presented that signaling pathways involving the Rho family of small GTPases are key regulators of actin polymerization and myosin function in the context of different aspects of neuronal morphogenesis. These studies support an emerging theme: Different aspects of neuronal morphogenesis may involve regulation of common core signaling pathways, in particular the Rho GTPases.

中文翻译：

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肌动蛋白细胞骨架调节神经元形态发生和结构可塑性。

肌动蛋白细胞骨架在神经元的形态发育和成年神经元的结构变化中起主要作用。本文综述了肌动蛋白和肌球蛋白在轴突起始，生长，引导和分支，树突和树突棘的形态发生，突触形成和稳定性以及轴突和树突缩回中的多种功能。有证据表明，在神经元形态发生的不同方面，涉及小GTPase Rho家族的信号通路是肌动蛋白聚合和肌球蛋白功能的关键调节剂。这些研究支持了一个新兴的主题：神经元形态发生的不同方面可能涉及共同核心信号通路的调节，特别是Rho GTPases。