Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Sci Signal. 2020 Dec 22;13(663):eabd8379. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.abd8379.
Postsynaptic organizational protein complexes play central roles both in orchestrating synapse formation and in defining the functional properties of synaptic transmission that together shape the flow of information through neuronal networks. A key component of these organizational protein complexes is the family of synaptic adhesion proteins called neuroligins. Neuroligins form transsynaptic bridges with presynaptic neurexins to regulate various aspects of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. Neuroligin-2 (NLGN2) is the only member that acts exclusively at GABAergic inhibitory synapses. Altered expression and mutations in NLGN2 and several of its interacting partners are linked to cognitive and psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, and anxiety. Research on NLGN2 has fundamentally shaped our understanding of the molecular architecture of inhibitory synapses. Here, we discuss the current knowledge on the molecular and cellular functions of mammalian NLGN2 and its role in the neuronal circuitry that regulates behavior in rodents and humans.
突触后组织蛋白复合物在协调突触形成和定义突触传递的功能特性方面发挥着核心作用，这些特性共同塑造了神经元网络中信息的流动。这些组织蛋白复合物的一个关键组成部分是突触粘附蛋白家族，称为神经连接蛋白。神经连接蛋白与突触前神经连接蛋白形成跨突触桥，调节兴奋性和抑制性突触传递的各个方面。神经连接蛋白-2（NLGN2）是唯一专门作用于 GABA 能抑制性突触的成员。NLGN2 及其几个相互作用伙伴的表达改变和突变与认知和精神疾病有关，包括精神分裂症、自闭症和焦虑症。对 NLGN2 的研究从根本上改变了我们对抑制性突触分子结构的理解。在这里，我们讨论了关于哺乳动物 NLGN2 的分子和细胞功能及其在调节啮齿动物和人类行为的神经元回路中的作用的最新知识。
