Feng Zhe, Zeng Menglong, Chen Xudong, Zhang Mingjie
Division of Life Science, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay , Kowloon , Hong Kong , China.
Center of Systems Biology and Human Health , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay , Kowloon , Hong Kong , China.
Biochemistry. 2018 May 1;57(17):2530-2539. doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.8b00313. Epub 2018 Apr 19.
The organization principles underlying non-membrane-bound organelles have started to unravel in the past 10 years. A new biophysical model known as biomolecular condensates has been proposed to explain many aspects of membraneless organelle assembly and regulation. Neurons are extremely complex, and each neuron can contain tens of thousands of synapses, building an extensive neuronal circuit. Intriguingly, neuronal synapses are characterized by specialized compartmentalization, where highly enriched supramolecular complexes are semi-membrane-enclosed into submicrometer-sized signal processing compartments. Recent findings have demonstrated that this postsynaptic density may be driven by phase separation, and an increasing number of studies of membraneless compartments have shed light on the important molecular features shared by these organelles. Here, we discuss the unique morphology and composition of synapses and consider how synaptic assembly might be driven by phase separation. Understanding the molecular behavior of this semi-membrane-bound compartment could ultimately help to explain the mechanistic details underlying synaptic transmission and plasticity, as well as the numerous brain disorders caused by synaptic defects.
在过去十年中，非膜结合细胞器的组织原则已开始被揭示。一种被称为生物分子凝聚物的新生物物理模型已被提出来解释无膜细胞器组装和调控的许多方面。神经元极其复杂，每个神经元可包含数以万计的突触，构建出广泛的神经回路。有趣的是，神经元突触具有特殊的区室化特征，其中高度富集的超分子复合物被半膜包裹在亚微米大小的信号处理区室中。最近的研究结果表明，这种突触后致密区可能由相分离驱动，并且越来越多关于无膜区室的研究揭示了这些细胞器共有的重要分子特征。在这里，我们讨论突触独特的形态和组成，并思考突触组装如何可能由相分离驱动。了解这个半膜结合区室的分子行为最终可能有助于解释突触传递和可塑性背后的机制细节，以及由突触缺陷引起的众多脑部疾病。
