1. Low, L. K. & Cheng, H. J. A little nip and tuck: axon refinement during development and axonal injury.Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.15, 549–556 (2005).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

2. Luo, L. & O'Leary, D. D. Axon retraction and degeneration in development and disease.Ann. Rev. Neurosci.28, 127–156 (2005).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

3. Perry, V. H., Hume, D. A. & Gordon S. Immunohistochemical localization of macrophages and microglia in the adult and developing mouse brain.Neuroscience15, 313–326 (1985).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

4. Conforti, L., Adalbert, R. & Coleman, M. P. Neuronal death: where does the end begin?Trends Neurosci.30, 159–166 (2007).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

5. Goddard, C. A., Butts, D. A. & Shatz, C. J. Regulation of CNS synapses by neuronal MHC class 1.Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA104, 6828–6833 (2007).

   Article  Google Scholar 

6. Stevens, B. et al. The classical complement cascade mediates CNS synapse elimination.Cell131, 1164–1178 (2007).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

7. Botto, M. et al. Homozygous C1q deficiency causes glomerulonephritis associated with multiple apoptotic bodies.Nature Genet.19, 56–59 (1998).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

8. De Almeida, C. J. & Linden, R. Phagocytosis of apoptotic cells: matter of balance.Cell. Mol. Life Sci.62, 1532–1546 (2005).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

9. Bredesen, D. E., Rao, R. V. & Mehlen, P. Cell death in the nervous system.Nature443, 796–802 (2006).

   Article CAS  Google Scholar 

10. Trouw, L. A., Blom, A. M. & Gasque, P. Role of complement regulators in the removal of apoptotic cells.Mol. Immunol.45, 1199–1207 (2008).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

11. Arlaud, G. J. et al. Structural biology of the C1 complex of complement unveils the mechanism of its activation and proteolytic activity.Mol. Immunol.39, 383–394 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

12. Mollnes, T. E., Song, W. C. & Lambris, J. D. Complement in inflammatory tissue damage and disease.Trends Immunol.23, 61–64 (2002).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

13. Yi, J. J. & Ehlers, M. D. Ubiquitin and protein turnover in synapse function.Neuron47, 5629–5632 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

14. Cunningham, C. et al. Synaptic changes characterise early behavioural signs in the ME7 model of murine prion disease.Eur. J. Neurosci.17, 2147–2155 (2003).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

15. Jaubert-Miazza, L. et al. Structural and functional composition of the developing retinogeniculate pathway in the mouse.Vis. Neurosci.22, 661–676 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

16. Sanes, J. R. & Lichtman, J. W. Can molecules explain long-term potentiation?Nature Neurosci.2, 597–604 (1999).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

17. Mack, T. G. et al. Wallerian degeneration of injured axons and synapses is delayed by aUbe4b/Nmnat chimeric gene.Nature Neurosci.4, 1199–1206 (2001).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

18. Libby, R. T. et al. Inherited glaucoma in DBA/2J mice: pertinent disease features for studying the neurodegeneration.Vis. Neurosci.22, 637–648 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

19. Beazley, L. D., Perry, V. H., Baker, B. & Darby, J. E. An investigation into the role of ganglion cells in the regulation of division and death of other retinal cells.Brain Res.430, 169–184 (1987).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

20. Agrawal, A., Shrive A. K., Greenhough, T. J. & Volanakis, J. E. Topology and structure of the C1q-binding site on C-reactive protein.J. Immunol.166, 3998–4004 (2001).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

21. Xu, D. et al. Narp and NP1 form heterocomplexes that function in development and activity dependent synaptic plasticity.Neuron39, 513–528 (2003).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

22. O'Brien, R. J. et al. Synaptically targeted narp plays an essential role in the aggregation of AMPA receptors at excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons.J. Neurosci.22, 4487–4498 (2002).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

23. Sia, G.-M., Belque, J., Rumbaugh, G., Cho, R. & Worley, P. F. Interaction of the N-terminal domain of AMPA receptor GluR4 subunit with neuronal pentraxin NP1 mediates GluR4 synaptic recruitment.Neuron55, 87–102 (2007).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

24. Bjartmar, L. et al. Neuronal pentraxins mediate synaptic refinement in the developing visual system.J. Neurosci.26, 6269–6281 (2006).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

25. Gasque, P., Dean, Y. D., McGreal, E. P., VanBeek, J. & Morgan, B. P. Complement components of the innate immune system in health and disease in the CNS.Immunopharmacology49, 171–186 (2000).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

26. Kreutzberg, G. W., Graeber, M. B. & Streit, W. J. Neuron-glial relationship during regeneration of motorneurons.Metab. Brain Dis.4, 81–85 (1989).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

27. Svensson, M. & Aldskogius, H. Synaptic density of axotomized hypoglossal motorneurons following pharmacological blockade of the microglial cell proliferation.Exp. Neurol.120, 123–131 (1993).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

28. Kalla, R. et al. Microglia and the early phase immune surveillance in the axotimized facial motor nucleus: impaired microglial activation and lymphocyte recruitment but no effect on neuronal survival or axonal regeneration in macrophage-colony stimulating factor deficent mice.J. Comp. Neurol.436, 182–201 (2001).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

29. Sikorska, B., Liberski, P. P., Giraud, P., Kopp, N. & Brown, P. Autophagy is a part of ultrastructural synaptic pathology in Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease: a brain biopsy study.Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol.36, 2563–2573 (2004).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

30. Ronnevi, L. O. Origin of glial processes responsible for the spontaneous postnatal phagocytosis of boutons on cat spinal motoneurons.Cell Tissue Res.189, 203–217 (1978).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

31. Halassa, M. M., Fellin, T. & Haydon, P. G. The tripartite synapse: roles for gliotransmission in health and disease.Trends Mol. Med.13, 54–63 (2007).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

32. Husemann J., Loike, J. D., Anankov, R., Febbraio, M. & Silverstein, S. C. Scavenger receptors in neurobiology and neuropathology: their role on microglia and other cells of the nervous system.Glia40, 195–205 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

33. Ronnevi, L. O. Spontaneous phagocytosis of C-type synaptic terminals by spinal α-motoneurons in newborn kittens. An electron microscopic study.Brain Res.162, 189–199 (1979).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

34. Bowen, S. et al. The phagocytic capacity of neurones.Eur. J. Neurosci.25, 2947–2955 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

35. Schraufstatter, I. U., Trieu, K., Sikora, L., Sriramarao, P. & DiScipio, R. Complement C3a and C5a induce different signal transduction cascades in endothelial cells.J. Immunol.169, 2102–2110 (2002).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

36. Bishop, D. L., Misgeld, T., Walsh, M. K., Gan, W. B. & Lichtman, J. W. Axon branch removal at developing synapses by axosome shedding.Neuron44, 651–661 (2004).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

37. Lobsiger, C. S., Boillée, S. & Cleveland, D. W. Toxicity from different SOD1 mutants dysregulates the complement system and the neuronal regenerative response in ALS motor neurons.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA104, 7319–7326 (2007).

    Article CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references