Deciphering Dendritic Translation: Mechanisms, Regulation, and Implications for Neurological Disorders

Dendritic translation in neurons is a crucial process for the localized synthesis of proteins at synapses, enabling rapid and specific responses to synaptic activity. This localized protein synthesis is essential for synaptic plasticity, the mechanism underlying learning and memory. By allowing the precise regulation of protein expression in response to neuronal signals, dendritic translation supports the structural and functional changes in synapses necessary for adaptive neural circuitry.

Despite significant advances, many aspects of dendritic translation remain poorly understood. The exact mechanisms that regulate which mRNAs are localized and translated at synapses, and how this process is dynamically controlled during different states of neuronal activity, are still largely unknown.

Dysregulation of dendritic translation has been implicated in various neurological disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, fragile X syndrome, and Alzheimer's disease. In these disorders, the improper regulation or localization of RNAs and protein synthesis at synapses contributes to synaptic dysfunction, potentially underlying the cognitive and behavioral deficits observed in patients. The precise molecular mechanisms linking defects in dendritic post-transcriptional and translational regulation to disease pathogenesis remain an area of active investigation.

Understanding these unknowns is critical, as they hold the potential for new therapeutic approaches targeting these disorders at a molecular level. Exploring the intricacies of dendritic RNA localization and translation, and their regulation, will enhance our ability to develop interventions aimed at correcting synaptic dysfunction in neurological diseases.

Our aim with this Research Topic is to bring together the communities of neuroscientists, molecular biologists, and cell biologists to illuminate the unknowns about local RNA and translational control in dendrites and its implications in neurological diseases. We welcome all types of manuscripts, ranging from research articles to reviews and commentaries. The main questions we are interested in highlighting in this Research Topic include:

1. Why and how do specific RNAs localize to dendrites?

2. What are the properties of these RNAs that target them to dendrites?

3. How does the localization and translation of these RNAs change with neuronal activity or disease?

4. What is the function of locally synthesized proteins?

5. What are the molecular mechanisms that regulate dendritic translation?

6. How do disruptions in dendritic translation contribute to the pathogenesis of neurological diseases?

7. Can targeting dendritic translation pathways offer therapeutic benefits for neurological disorders?

We look forward to your contributions to this exciting and evolving field.

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Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: RNA localization in neurons, localized translation in neurons, molecular neuroscience, neurological disease, synaptic plasticity, neuronal activation, dendritic protein synthesis

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.