scholarly journals ELKS active zone proteins as multitasking scaffolds for secretion

Open Biology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 170258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Held ◽  
Pascal S. Kaeser
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Active Zone ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Scaffolding Protein ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Vesicle Traffic ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Variable Extent ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Presynaptic Plasma Membrane

Synaptic vesicle exocytosis relies on the tethering of release ready vesicles close to voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels and specific lipids at the future site of fusion. This enables rapid and efficient neurotransmitter secretion during presynaptic depolarization by an action potential. Extensive research has revealed that this tethering is mediated by an active zone, a protein dense structure that is attached to the presynaptic plasma membrane and opposed to postsynaptic receptors. Although roles of individual active zone proteins in exocytosis are in part understood, the molecular mechanisms that hold the protein scaffold at the active zone together and link it to the presynaptic plasma membrane have remained unknown. This is largely due to redundancy within and across scaffolding protein families at the active zone. Recent studies, however, have uncovered that ELKS proteins, also called ERC, Rab6IP2 or CAST, act as active zone scaffolds redundant with RIMs. This redundancy has led to diverse synaptic phenotypes in studies of ELKS knockout mice, perhaps because different synapses rely to a variable extent on scaffolding redundancy. In this review, we first evaluate the need for presynaptic scaffolding, and we then discuss how the diverse synaptic and non-synaptic functional roles of ELKS support the hypothesis that ELKS provides molecular scaffolding for organizing vesicle traffic at the presynaptic active zone and in other cellular compartments.

scholarly journals Synaptic vesicles transiently dock to refill release sites

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant F Kusick ◽  
Morven Chin ◽  
Sumana Raychaudhuri ◽  
Kristina Lippmann ◽  
Kadidia P Adula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Active Zone ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Electrical Field Stimulation ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Single Action ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Asynchronous Release

AbstractSynaptic vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane to release neurotransmitter following an action potential, after which new vesicles must ‘dock’ to refill vacated release sites. To capture synaptic vesicle exocytosis at cultured mouse hippocampal synapses, we induced single action potentials by electrical field stimulation then subjected neurons to high-pressure freezing to examine their morphology by electron microscopy. During synchronous release, multiple vesicles can fuse at a single active zone; this multivesicular release is augmented by increasing extracellular calcium. Fusions during synchronous release are distributed throughout the active zone, whereas fusions during asynchronous release are biased toward the center of the active zone. Immediately after stimulation, the total number of docked vesicles across all synapses decreases by ∼40%. Between 8 and 14 ms, new vesicles are recruited to the plasma membrane and fully replenish the docked pool in a calcium-dependent manner, but docking of these vesicles is transient and they either undock or fuse within 100 ms. These results demonstrate that recruitment of synaptic vesicles to release sites is rapid and reversible.

scholarly journals Piccolo modulation of Synapsin1a dynamics regulates synaptic vesicle exocytosis

2008 ◽  
Vol 181 (5) ◽  
pp. 831-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Leal-Ortiz ◽  
Clarissa L. Waites ◽  
Ryan Terry-Lorenzo ◽  
Pedro Zamorano ◽  
Eckart D. Gundelfinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Active Zone ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Synapse Formation ◽  
Zone Formation ◽  
Homologous Protein ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Presynaptic Plasma Membrane ◽  
And Function

Active zones are specialized regions of the presynaptic plasma membrane designed for the efficient and repetitive release of neurotransmitter via synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis. Piccolo is a high molecular weight component of the active zone that is hypothesized to participate both in active zone formation and the scaffolding of key molecules involved in SV recycling. In this study, we use interference RNAs to eliminate Piccolo expression from cultured hippocampal neurons to assess its involvement in synapse formation and function. Our data show that Piccolo is not required for glutamatergic synapse formation but does influence presynaptic function by negatively regulating SV exocytosis. Mechanistically, this regulation appears to be calmodulin kinase II–dependent and mediated through the modulation of Synapsin1a dynamics. This function is not shared by the highly homologous protein Bassoon, which indicates that Piccolo has a unique role in coupling the mobilization of SVs in the reserve pool to events within the active zone.

scholarly journals Stable and Flexible Synaptic Transmission Controlled by the Active Zone Protein Interactions

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (21) ◽  
pp. 11775
Author(s):  
Sumiko Mochida
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Transmission ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Active Zone ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Presynaptic Plasma Membrane ◽  
Sensor Proteins

An action potential triggers neurotransmitter release from synaptic vesicles docking to a specialized release site of the presynaptic plasma membrane, the active zone. The active zone is a highly organized structure with proteins that serves as a platform for synaptic vesicle exocytosis, mediated by SNAREs complex and Ca2+ sensor proteins, within a sub-millisecond opening of nearby Ca2+ channels with the membrane depolarization. In response to incoming neuronal signals, each active zone protein plays a role in the release-ready site replenishment with synaptic vesicles for sustainable synaptic transmission. The active zone release apparatus provides a possible link between neuronal activity and plasticity. This review summarizes the mostly physiological role of active zone protein interactions that control synaptic strength, presynaptic short-term plasticity, and homeostatic synaptic plasticity.

scholarly journals A Novel Tetanus Neurotoxin-insensitive Vesicle-associated Membrane Protein in SNARE Complexes of the Apical Plasma Membrane of Epithelial Cells

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1437-1448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Galli ◽  
Ahmed Zahraoui ◽  
Vadakkanchery V. Vaidyanathan ◽  
Graça Raposo ◽  
Jian Min Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Membrane Protein ◽  
Apical Plasma Membrane ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Tetanus Neurotoxin ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Clostridial Neurotoxins ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Syntaxin 3

The importance of soluble N-ethyl maleimide (NEM)-sensitive fusion protein (NSF) attachment protein (SNAP) receptors (SNAREs) in synaptic vesicle exocytosis is well established because it has been demonstrated that clostridial neurotoxins (NTs) proteolyze the vesicle SNAREs (v-SNAREs) vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)/brevins and their partners, the target SNAREs (t-SNAREs) syntaxin 1 and SNAP25. Yet, several exocytotic events, including apical exocytosis in epithelial cells, are insensitive to numerous clostridial NTs, suggesting the presence of SNARE-independent mechanisms of exocytosis. In this study we found that syntaxin 3, SNAP23, and a newly identified VAMP/brevin, tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT)-insensitive VAMP (TI-VAMP), are insensitive to clostridial NTs. In epithelial cells, TI-VAMP–containing vesicles were concentrated in the apical domain, and the protein was detected at the apical plasma membrane by immunogold labeling on ultrathin cryosections. Syntaxin 3 and SNAP23 were codistributed at the apical plasma membrane where they formed NEM-dependent SNARE complexes with TI-VAMP and cellubrevin. We suggest that TI-VAMP, SNAP23, and syntaxin 3 can participate in exocytotic processes at the apical plasma membrane of epithelial cells and, more generally, domain-specific exocytosis in clostridial NT-resistant pathways.

scholarly journals UNC-2 CaV2 channel localization at presynaptic active zones depends on UNC-10/RIM and SYD-2/Liprin-α in Caenorhabditis elegans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly H. Oh ◽  
Mia Krout ◽  
Janet E. Richmond ◽  
Hongkyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Active Zone ◽  
Calcium Influx ◽  
Genetic Screen ◽  
Scaffolding Protein ◽  
Tight Coupling ◽  
Forward Genetic Screen ◽  
Precise Control ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Active Zones

AbstractPresynaptic active zone proteins couple calcium influx with synaptic vesicle exocytosis. However, the control of presynaptic calcium channel clustering by active zone proteins is not completely understood. In a C. elegans forward genetic screen, we find that UNC-10/RIM (Rab3-interacting molecule) and SYD-2/Liprin-α regulate presynaptic clustering of UNC-2, the CaV2 channel ortholog. We further quantitatively analyzed live animals using endogenously GFP-tagged UNC-2 and active zone components. Consistent with the interaction between RIM and CaV2 in mammals, the intensity and number of UNC-2 channel clusters at presynaptic terminals were greatly reduced in unc-10 mutant animals. To understand how SYD-2 regulates presynaptic UNC-2 channel clustering, we analyzed presynaptic localization of endogenous SYD-2, UNC-10, RIMB-1/RIM-BP (RIM binding protein), and ELKS-1. Our analysis revealed that while SYD-2 is the most critical for active zone assembly, loss of SYD-2 function does not completely abolish presynaptic localization of UNC-10, RIMB-1, and ELKS-1, suggesting an existence of SYD-2-independent active zone assembly. UNC-2 localization analysis in double and triple mutants of active zone components show that SYD-2 promotes UNC-2 clustering by partially controlling UNC-10 localization, and ELKS-1 and RIMB-1 also contribute to UNC-2 channel clustering. In addition, we find that core active zone proteins are unequal in their abundance. While the abundance of UNC-10 at the active zone is comparable to UNC-2, SYD-2 and ELKS-1 are twice more and RIMB-1 four times more abundant than UNC-2. Together our data show that UNC-10, SYD-2, RIMB-1, and ELKS-1 control presynaptic UNC-2 channel clustering in redundant yet distinct manners.Significance StatementPrecise control of neurotransmission is dependent on the tight coupling of the calcium influx through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) to the exocytosis machinery at the presynaptic active zones. However, how these VGCCs are tethered to the active zone is incompletely understood. To understand the mechanism of presynaptic VGCC localization, we performed a C. elegans forward genetic screen and quantitatively analyzed endogenous active zones and presynaptic VGCCs. In addition to RIM (Rab3-interacting molecule), our study finds that SYD-2/Liprin-α is critical for presynaptic localization of VGCCs. Yet, the loss of SYD-2, the master active zone scaffolding protein, does not completely abolish the presynaptic localization of the VGCC, showing that the active zone is a resilient structure assembled by redundant mechanisms.

scholarly journals Aczonin, a 550-Kd Putative Scaffolding Protein of Presynaptic Active Zones, Shares Homology Regions with Rim and Bassoon and Binds Profilin

1999 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolu Wang ◽  
Mark Kibschull ◽  
Michael M. Laue ◽  
Beate Lichte ◽  
Elisabeth Petrasch-Parwez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Zone ◽  
Pdz Domain ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Scaffolding Protein ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
C2 Domains ◽  
Cytoskeletal Dynamics ◽  
Active Zones ◽  
Presynaptic Plasma Membrane

Neurotransmitter exocytosis is restricted to the active zone, a specialized area of the presynaptic plasma membrane. We report the identification and initial characterization of aczonin, a neuron-specific 550-kD protein concentrated at the presynaptic active zone and associated with a detergent-resistant cytoskeletal subcellular fraction. Analysis of the amino acid sequences of chicken and mouse aczonin indicates an organization into multiple domains, including two pairs of Cys4 zinc fingers, a polyproline tract, and a PDZ domain and two C2 domains near the COOH terminus. The second C2 domain is subject to differential splicing. Aczonin binds profilin, an actin-binding protein implicated in actin cytoskeletal dynamics. Large parts of aczonin, including the zinc finger, PDZ, and C2 domains, are homologous to Rim or to Bassoon, two other proteins concentrated in presynaptic active zones. We propose that aczonin is a scaffolding protein involved in the organization of the molecular architecture of synaptic active zones and in the orchestration of neurotransmitter vesicle trafficking.

scholarly journals Structural changes after transmitter release at the frog neuromuscular junction.

1981 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 564-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Heuser ◽  
T S Reese
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Frog Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Vesicle Membrane ◽  
Intramembrane Particles ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Quick Freezing ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Active Zones

The sequence of structural changes that occur during synaptic vesicle exocytosis was studied by quick-freezing muscles at different intervals after stimulating their nerves, in the presence of 4-aminopyridine to increase the number of transmitter quanta released by each stimulus. Vesicle openings began to appear at the active zones of the intramuscular nerves within 3-4 ms after a single stimulus. The concentration of these openings peaked at 5-6 ms, and then declined to zero 50-100 ms late. At the later times, vesicle openings tended to be larger. Left behind at the active zones, after the vesicle openings disappeared, were clusters of large intramembrane particles. The larger particles in these clusters were the same size as intramembrane particles in undischarged vesicles, and were slightly larger than the particles which form the rows delineating active zones. Because previous tracer work had shown that new vesicles do not pinch off from the plasma membrane at these early times, we concluded that the particle clusters originate from membranes of discharged vesicles which collapse into the plasmalemma after exocytosis. The rate of vesicle collapse appeared to be variable because different stages occurred simultaneously at most times after stimulation; this asynchrony was taken to indicate that the collapse of each exocytotic vesicle is slowed by previous nearby collapses. The ultimate fate of synaptic vesicle membrane after collapse appeared to be coalescence with the plasma membrane, as the clusters of particles gradually dispersed into surrounding areas during the first second after a stimulus. The membrane retrieval and recycling that reverse this exocytotic sequence have a slower onset, as has been described in previous reports.

scholarly journals Melanophilin accelerates insulin granule fusion without predocking to the plasma membrane

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Admin ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Kouichi Mizuno ◽  
Noriko Takahashi ◽  
Eri Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Secretory Granule ◽  
Β Cells ◽  
Pancreatic Β Cells ◽  
Granule Exocytosis ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Granule Membrane ◽  
Myosin Va ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Glucose Stimulated Insulin Secretion

Direct observation of fluorescence-labeled secretory granule exocytosis in living pancreatic β cells has revealed heterogeneous prefusion behaviors: some granules dwell beneath the plasma membrane before fusion, while others fuse immediately once they are recruited to the plasma membrane. Although the former mode seems to follow sequential docking-priming-fusion steps as found in synaptic vesicle exocytosis, the latter mode, which is unique to secretory granule exocytosis, has not been explored well. Here, we show that melanophilin, one of the effectors of the monomeric GTPase Rab27 on the granule membrane, is involved in such an accelerated mode of exocytosis. Both melanophilin-mutated <i>leaden</i> mouse and melanophilin-downregulated human pancreatic β cells exhibit impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, with a specific reduction in fusion events that bypass stable docking to the plasma membrane. Upon stimulus-induced [Ca<sup>2+</sup>]<sub>i</sub> rise, melanophilin mediates this type of fusion by dissociating granules from myosin-Va and actin in the actin cortex and by associating them with a fusion-competent, open form of syntaxin-4 on the plasma membrane. These findings provide the hitherto unknown mechanism to support sustainable exocytosis by which granules are recruited from the cell interior and fuse promptly without stable predocking to the plasma membrane.

scholarly journals Neuronal L-Type Calcium Channel Signaling to the Nucleus Requires a Novel CaMKIIα-Shank3 Interaction

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler L. Perfitt ◽  
Xiaohan Wang ◽  
Jason R. Stephenson ◽  
Terunaga Nakagawa ◽  
Roger J. Colbran
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Membrane Receptors ◽  
Scaffolding Protein ◽  
Downstream Signaling ◽  
Calcium Calmodulin Dependent ◽  
Plasma Membrane Receptors

ABSTRACTThe molecular mechanisms that couple plasma membrane receptors/channels to specific intracellular responses, such as increased gene expression, are incompletely understood. The postsynaptic scaffolding protein Shank3 associates with Ca2+ permeable receptors or ion channels that can activate many downstream signaling proteins, including calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Here, we show that Shank3/CaMKIIα complexes can be specifically co-immunoprecipitated from mouse forebrain lysates, and that purified activated (Thr286 autophosphorylated) CaMKIIα binds directly to Shank3 between residues 829-1130. Mutation of three basic residues in Shank3 (R949RK951) to alanine disrupts CaMKII binding to Shank3 fragments in vitro, as well as CaMKII association with full-length Shank3 in heterologous cells. Our shRNA/rescue studies revealed that Shank3 binding to both CaMKII and L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) is required for increased phosphorylation of the nuclear CREB transcription factor induced by depolarization of cultured hippocampal neurons. Thus, this novel Shank3-CaMKII interaction is essential for the initiation of a specific long-range signal from plasma membrane LTCCs to the nucleus that is required for activity-dependent changes in neuronal gene expression during learning and memory.

scholarly journals Truncated SNAP-25 (1–197), Like Botulinum Neurotoxin A, Can Inhibit Insulin Secretion from HIT-T15 Insulinoma Cells

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1060-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohang Huang ◽  
Michael B. Wheeler ◽  
You-hou Kang ◽  
Laura Sheu ◽  
Gergely L. Lukacs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Insulin Secretion ◽  
Botulinum Neurotoxin ◽  
Botulinum Neurotoxin A ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Protein Receptors ◽  
Vesicle Exocytosis ◽  
Insulin Secreting Cells ◽  
Insulinoma Cells

Abstract We and others have previously shown that insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas express high levels of SNAP-25 (synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa), a 206-amino acid t-SNARE (target soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors) implicated in synaptic vesicle exocytosis. In the present study, we show that SNAP-25 is required for insulin secretion by transient transfection of Botulinum Neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) into insulin-secreting HIT-T15 cells. Transient expression of BoNT/A cleaved the endogenous as well as overexpressed SNAP-25 proteins and caused significant reductions in K+ and glucose-evoked secretion of insulin. To determine whether the inhibition of release was due to the depletion of functional SNAP-25 or the accumulation of proteolytic by-products, we transfected cells with SNAP-25 proteins from which the C-terminal nine amino acids had been deleted to mimic the effects of the toxin. This modified SNAP-25 (amino acids 1–197) remained bound to the plasma membrane but was as effective as the toxin at inhibiting insulin secretion. Microfluorimetry revealed that the inhibition of secretion was due neither to changes in basal cytosolic Ca2+ levels nor in Ca2+ influx evoked by K+-mediated plasma membrane depolarization. Electron microscopy revealed that cells transfected with either BoNT/A or truncated SNAP-25 contained significantly higher numbers of insulin granules, many of which clustered close to the plasma membrane. Together, these results demonstrate that functional SNAP-25 proteins are required for insulin secretion and suggest that the inhibitory action of BoNT/A toxin on insulin secretion is in part caused by the production of the plasma membrane-bound cleavage product, which itself interferes with insulin granule docking and fusion.

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