Richmond Janet E, Broadie Kendal S
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois, 840 West Taylor Street, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2002 Oct;12(5):499-507. doi: 10.1016/s0959-4388(02)00360-4.
Advances in the study of Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans have provided key insights into the processes of neurotransmission and neuromodulation. Work in the past year has revealed that Unc-13 and Rab3a-interacting molecule regulate the conformational state of syntaxin to prime synaptic vesicle fusion. Analyses of synaptotagmin support its role as a putative calcium sensor triggering vesicular fusion and highlight the possible role of SNARE complex oligomerization in the fusion mechanism. Characterization of endophilin mutants demonstrates that kiss-and-run endocytosis is a major component of synaptic vesicle recycling. In neuromodulation, dcaps mutants provide the first genetic insight into possible roles of the CAPS protein in mediating dense core vesicle fusion and modulating synaptic vesicle fusion.
黑腹果蝇和秀丽隐杆线虫研究的进展为神经传递和神经调节过程提供了关键见解。过去一年的研究表明，Unc-13和Rab3a相互作用分子调节 syntaxin 的构象状态以启动突触小泡融合。对突触结合蛋白的分析支持其作为触发小泡融合的假定钙传感器的作用，并突出了SNARE复合体寡聚化在融合机制中的可能作用。内吞蛋白突变体的表征表明，吻-跑式内吞是突触小泡循环的主要组成部分。在神经调节方面，dcaps突变体首次从遗传学角度揭示了CAPS蛋白在介导致密核心小泡融合和调节突触小泡融合中的可能作用。
