Department of Medical and Biological Sciences, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon 14662, South Korea; Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon 14662, South Korea.
Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2024 Oct;49(10):888-900. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2024.07.005. Epub 2024 Aug 27.
The presynaptic nerve terminal is crucial for transmitting signals to the adjacent cell. To fulfill this role, specific proteins with distinct functions are concentrated in spatially confined areas within the nerve terminals. A recent concept termed liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) has provided new insights into how this process may occur. In this review, we aim to summarize the LLPS of proteins in different parts of the presynaptic nerve terminals, including synaptic vesicle (SV) clusters, the active zone (AZ), and the endocytic zone, with an additional focus on neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), where the functional relevance of these properties is explored. Last, we propose new perspectives and future directions for the role of LLPS in presynaptic nerve terminals.
神经末梢的突触前部位对于向相邻细胞传递信号至关重要。为了实现这一功能，特定的具有不同功能的蛋白质集中在神经末梢的空间受限区域内。最近提出的液-液相分离（LLPS）概念为这一过程的发生方式提供了新的见解。在这篇综述中，我们旨在总结突触前神经末梢不同部位的蛋白质的 LLPS，包括突触小泡（SV）簇、活性区（AZ）和内吞区，并特别关注神经退行性疾病（NDDs），探索这些特性的功能相关性。最后，我们提出了 LLPS 在突触前神经末梢中的作用的新观点和未来方向。
