Cysteine strings, calcium channels and synaptic transmission

✍ Scribed by Barry Ganetzky

• Book ID: 102761931
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 648 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0265-9247
• DOI: 10.1002/bies.950160704

✦ Synopsis

Multidisciplinary studies have led to the discovery and characterization of cysteine string proteins (csps) in both Drosophilu and Torpedo. Phenotypic analysis of csp mutants in Drosophila demonstrates a crucial role for csp in synaptic transmission. Expression studies of Torpedo csp (Tcsp) in Xenopus oocytes suggests that the protein has some role in the function of presynaptic Ca2+ channels. However, biochemical purification of Tcsp indicates that is associated with synaptic vesicles rather than with the plasma membrane of presynaptic terminals where Ca2+ channels reside. These results suggest a model in which csps serve as a link by which docked synaptic vesicles could modulate the activity of presynaptic Ca2+ channels.