ALPINE · Ultrastructural analysis of phosphoinositides in nerve terminals: distribution, dynamics and physiological roles in synaptic transmission
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2018-04-01 → 2020-03-31
- EU contribution
- €178,157
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
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Results in brief
Ultrastructural analysis of phosphoinositides in nerve terminals: distribution, dynamics and physiological roles in synaptic transmission
Phosphoinositides (PIs) are minor components on cytoplasmic sides of eukaryotic cell membranes, but they play important roles in many aspects of cellular functions, including synaptic transmission in neurons. Many of proteins contributing synaptic transmission has binding domains to one or some stereoisomers of PIs, indicating a potential role of PIs as an anchor or a modulator for the proteins to determine these localization and dynamics during synaptic transmission. Although it is important to know the distribution pattern of PIs and also their dynamics on presynaptic terminal membranes to understand the molecular machinery of synaptic transmission, the most of knowledge about the distribution pattern of PIs was speculated in speculated in nerve terminals from the observations in non-neuronal cells such as yeast and endocrine cells. This project was aimed to investigate the nanoscale distribution pattern and activity-dependent dynamics of PIs on nerve terminal membranes, and their physiological roles in synaptic transmission to understand the mechanisms of synaptic transmission.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Phosphoinositides (PIs) are minor components of cell membranes, and play important roles in cellular functions. In chemical synapses in mammalian brain, each PI distributes different subcellular areas in nerve terminals, and cooperate with many proteins to regulate synaptic transmission machinery. To understand how PIs regulate synaptic transmission, the ultrastructural distribution pattern and dynamics of PIs at nerve terminals are crucial because PIs may functionally interact with proteins at domains of nano-meter ranges called active zones (AZs) or peri-AZs. However, their ultrastructural distribution and dynamics in nerve terminals are poorly investigated because of some technical difficulties. This research project aims to investigate (1) the ultrastructural distribution of PIs at AZs and peri-AZs in nerve terminals, (2) co-localization of PIs with presynaptic proteins related to synaptic transmission, (3) the ultrastructural dynamics of PIs and PI-protein coupling during synaptic transmission, and (4) the physiological roles of PI-protein couplings in synaptic transmission, using electron microscopic and electrophysiological techniques combined with optogenetics and biochemical tools. These highly-interdisciplinary approaches will unveil the physiological roles of PIs and PI-protein couplings in synaptic transmission, and is expected to give a fundamental breakthrough in understanding mechanisms of synaptic transmission.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AUSTRIA · KlosterneuburgCoordinatorAustria
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union