Protein Identified that Controls Synapse Formation

A study into the molecular mechanisms responsible for controlling development of the central nervous system found that the SynCam protein plays a major role in the formation of synapses, the junctions between nerve cells through which they communicate. SynCAM is a brain-specific, immunoglobulin domain-containing protein that binds to intracellular PDZ-domain proteins and functions as a homophilic cell adhesion molecule at the synapse. The study on SynCAM's role in synapse formation was published in the August 30, 2002, issue of Science.

The researchers, from the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center (Dallas, USA), identified proteins involved in synapse formation by searching the mouse genome for a candidate molecule that could form a bridge between neurons and recruit synaptic components.

They developed a model for synaptic transmission by artificially inducing synapses and performing a functional characterization using cultured neurons from laboratory mice. When SynCAM was overexpressed, a nearly three-fold increase in spontaneous synaptic structures and spontaneous synaptic activity was found. When this function of SynCAM was interrupted, the number of synapses and activity decreased.

"Until this discovery very little was known about how neurons form synapses with each other,” explained Dr. Thomas Biederer, the study's first author. "We defined how the initial contact points are being developed and from there we can figure out how the young nervous system grows into an active network.”



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Univ. of Texas Southwest Medical Center