From the Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10021.
From the Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York 10021
J Biol Chem. 2019 Mar 8;294(10):3325-3342. doi: 10.1074/jbc.REV118.006493. Epub 2019 Jan 30.
The past few years have resulted in an increased awareness and recognition of the prevalence and roles of intrinsically disordered proteins and protein regions (IDPs and IDRs, respectively) in synaptic vesicle trafficking and exocytosis and in overall synaptic organization. IDPs and IDRs constitute a class of proteins and protein regions that lack stable tertiary structure, but nevertheless retain biological function. Their significance in processes such as cell signaling is now well accepted, but their pervasiveness and importance in other areas of biology are not as widely appreciated. Here, we review the prevalence and functional roles of IDPs and IDRs associated with the release and recycling of synaptic vesicles at nerve terminals, as well as with the architecture of these terminals. We hope to promote awareness, especially among neuroscientists, of the importance of this class of proteins in these critical pathways and structures. The examples discussed illustrate some of the ways in which the structural flexibility conferred by intrinsic protein disorder can be functionally advantageous in the context of cellular trafficking and synaptic function.
在过去的几年中，人们越来越意识到无序蛋白和无规则区域（分别为 IDPs 和 IDRs）在突触小泡运输和胞吐以及整体突触组织中的普遍性和作用。IDPs 和 IDRs 构成了一类缺乏稳定三级结构但保留生物功能的蛋白质和蛋白质区域。它们在细胞信号等过程中的重要性现在已经被广泛接受，但它们在生物学其他领域的普遍性和重要性还没有得到广泛认可。在这里，我们回顾了与神经末梢突触小泡释放和再循环以及这些末梢结构相关的 IDPs 和 IDRs 的普遍性和功能作用。我们希望提高人们，尤其是神经科学家对这类蛋白质在这些关键途径和结构中的重要性的认识。所讨论的例子说明了在细胞运输和突触功能的背景下，固有蛋白质无序赋予的结构灵活性在功能上的优势的一些方式。
