Abstract
The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is important in regulating neuronal development and plasticity by modulating cell adhesion and signal transduction. Studies using NCAM antibodies have demonstrated a role of NCAM in hippocampal long-term potentiation and in animal learning models. These findings have been supported by the observation that NCAM-deficient mice show altered LTP as well as learning deficits. A particular carbohydrate modification of NCAM, polysialic acid (PSA), has been shown to be important for synaptic plasticity, as demonstrated by impaired LTP and learning in mice deficient in polysialyltransferase enzymes necessary for adding PSA to the NCAM protein as well as in wildtype mice after enzymatic removal of PSA. It is suggested that NCAM and its PSA moiety are involved in synaptic remodeling in LTP and learning, possibly by modulating signal transduction pathways as well as by mediating and permitting adhesive changes in an activity-dependent manner.
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