• Molecules and Cells
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.7-19
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• 2008

Complexins play a critical role in the control of fast synchronous neurotransmitter release. They operate by binding to trimeric SNARE complexes consisting of the vesicle protein Synaptobrevin and the plasma membrane proteins Syntaxin and SNAP-25, which are key executors of membrane fusion reactions. SNARE complex binding by Complexins is thought to stabilize and clamp the SNARE complex in a highly fusogenic state, thereby providing a pool of readily releasable synaptic vesicles that can be released quickly and synchronously in response to an action potential and the concomitant increase in intra-synaptic $Ca^{2+}$ levels. Genetic elimination of Complexins from mammalian neurons causes a strong reduction in evoked neurotransmitter release, and altered Complexin expression levels with consequent deficits in synaptic transmission were suggested to contribute to the etiology or pathogenesis of schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, depression, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, Wernicke's encephalopathy, and fetal alcohol syndrome. In the present review I provide a summary of available data on the role of altered Complexin expression in brain diseases. On aggregate, the available information indicates that altered Complexin expression levels are unlikely to have a causal role in the etiology of the disorders that they have been implicated in, but that they may contribute to the corresponding symptoms.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제45권11호
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• pp.806-819
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• 2022

Synaptic accumulation of α-synuclein (α-Syn) oligomers and their interactions with VAMP2 have been reported to be the basis of synaptic dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD). α-Syn mutants associated with familial PD have also been known to be capable of interacting with VAMP2, but the exact mechanisms resulting from those interactions to eventual synaptic dysfunction are still unclear. Here, we investigate the effect of α-Syn mutant oligomers comprising A30P, E46K, and A53T on VAMP2-embedded vesicles. Specifically, A30P and A53T oligomers cluster vesicles in the presence of VAMP2, which is a shared mechanism with wild type α-Syn oligomers induced by dopamine. On the other hand, E46K oligomers reduce the membrane mobility of the planar bilayers, as revealed by single-particle tracking, and permeabilize the membranes in the presence of VAMP2. In the absence of VAMP2 interactions, E46K oligomers enlarge vesicles by fusing with one another. Our results clearly demonstrate that α-Syn mutant oligomers have aberrant effects on VAMP2-embedded vesicles and the disruption types are distinct depending on the mutant types. This work may provide one of the possible clues to explain the α-Syn mutant-type dependent pathological heterogeneity of familial PD.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제44권3호
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• pp.83-87
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• 2014

Electron tomography (ET) is a useful tool to investigate three-dimensional details based on virtual slices of relative thick specimen, and it requires complicated procedures consisted of image acquisition steps and image processing steps with computer program. Although the complicated step, this technique allows us to overcome some limitations of conventional transmission electron microscopy: (1) overlapping of information in the ultrathin section covering from 30 nm to 90 nm when we observe very small structures, (2) fragmentation of the information when we study larger structures over 100 nm. There are remarkable biological findings with ET, especially in the field of neuroscience, although it is not popular yet. Understanding of behavior of synaptic vesicle, active zone, pooling and fusion in the presynaptic terminal have been enhanced thanks to ET. Some sophisticated models of postsynaptic density with ET and immune labeling are introduced recently. In this review, we introduce principles, practical steps of ET and some recent researches in synapse biology.

• BMB Reports
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• 제50권5호
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• pp.237-246
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• 2017

Synapse is the basic structural and functional component for neural communication in the brain. The presynaptic terminal is the structural and functionally essential area that initiates communication and maintains the continuous functional neural information flow. It contains synaptic vesicles (SV) filled with neurotransmitters, an active zone for release, and numerous proteins for SV fusion and retrieval. The structural and functional synaptic plasticity is a representative characteristic; however, it is highly vulnerable to various pathological conditions. In fact, synaptic alteration is thought to be central to neural disease processes. In particular, the alteration of the structural and functional phenotype of the presynaptic terminal is a highly significant evidence for neural diseases. In this review, we specifically describe structural and functional alteration of nerve terminals in several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington's disease (HD).

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.141-146
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• 2004

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNARE) proteins, composed of two presynaptic membrane proteins [synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25) and syntaxin] and a presynaptic vesicular protein [vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)], serve as a core of exocytotic fusion machinery, which can be affected by ischemia. Synaptic protein in core region, striatum and cortex has been shown to alter after focal ischemia, however, little is known in hippocampus. Hippocampus is remote from ischemic core, but it is one of the most vulnerable regions. Using immunohistochemistry, the present study was undertaken to investigate the alteration of expression of SNAP-25, syntaxin, and VAMP in the hippocampus of rats which were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2h and allowed to reperfuse. At 2 weeks of reperfusion, the SNAP-25 and syntaxin immunoreactivity was increased in the stratum oriens of the CA1 and the stratum lucidum of the CA3 in the ipsilateral hippocampus. However, VAMP immunoreactivity didn't show significant change. These results demonstrate that the level of the presynatpic plasma membrane proteins (SNAP-25 and syntaxin) in the rat hippocampus is more sensitively affected by focal ischemia than that of the synaptic vesicle protein (VAMP).

• 대한의생명과학회지
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.11-17
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• 2000

SNAP-25는 presynaptic plasma membrane에 위치하는 단백질로서 synaptic vesicle의 docking과 fusion에 있어서 매우 중요한 역할을 한다. 생쥐 SNAP-25$^{2)}$ 유전자와 99%의 높은 homology를 갖고 있는 Z2 cDNA를 probe로 사용하여 쥐의 뇌 cDNA library에서 SNAP-25유전자를 screening하였다. 그 결과 6개 의 양성 클론을 분리 해 냈으며, 이들 각각을 S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6으로 명명하였다. 이 중에서 생쥐 SNAP-25와 가장 높은 homology를 보여 주고 있는 S5 클론을 선택하여 염기서열을 분석하였다. 2,100 bp의 염기서열로 구성된 쥐 SNAP-25 cDNA는 206개의 아미노산을 coding하는 618 bp의 open reading frame을 가지고 있으며, ORF는 209~211 bp에 위치하는 AUG codon에서 시작하여 827~829 bp에 위치하는 stop codon TAA에서 끝난다. 3' untranslated region에서 는 28과 19개 의 CA 반복 염기서열을 보여주고 있었으며, SNAP-25 peptide sequence에서 4개의 cystein residues는 84~91에 위치하고 있었으며, amino terminus 부분에서 amphipathic $\alpha$-helix를 형성하고 있는 것을 볼 수 있었다. 사람과 쥐의 SNAP-25 유전자는 88%, 생쥐와 쥐의 경우는 97%의 homology를 보여 주고 있었다. 그리고 사람과 쥐의 ORF에서 염기서열은 94%,생쥐와 쥐의 ORF에서 염기서열은 100%의 homology를 보여주고 있었으며 사람, 생쥐, 그리고 쥐의 ORF에서 아미노산 서열은 100%의 homology를 보여주고 있었다.

• BMB Reports
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.302-314
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• 2007

N type calcium channels (CaV2.2) play a key role in the gating of transmitter release at presynaptic nerve terminals. These channels are generally regarded as parts of a multimolecular complex that can modulate their open probability and ensure their location near the vesicle docking and fusion sites. However, the proteins that comprise this component remain poorly characterized. We have carried out the first open screen of presynaptic CaV2.2 complex members by an antibody-mediated capture of the channel from purified rat brain synaptosome lysate followed by mass spectroscopy. 589 unique peptides resulted in a high confidence match of 104 total proteins and 40 synaptosome proteome proteins. This screen identified several known CaV2.2 interacting proteins including syntaxin 1, VAMP, protein phosphatase 2A, $G_{o\alpha}$, G$\beta$ and spectrin and also a number of novel proteins, including clathrin, adaptin, dynamin, dynein, NSF and actin. The unexpected proteins were classified within a number of functional classes that include exocytosis, endocytosis, cytoplasmic matrix, modulators, chaperones, and cell-signaling molecules and this list was contrasted to previous reports that catalogue the synaptosome proteome. The failure to detect any postsynaptic density proteins suggests that the channel itself does not exhibit stable trans-synaptic attachments. Our results suggest that the channel is anchored to a cytoplasmic matrix related to the previously described particle web.