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Comment
. 2022 Sep 21:11:25.
doi: 10.12703/r-01-0000017. eCollection 2022.

Building synapses: Using a synthetic approach to bridge synaptic membranes

Christina K Kim  1 , Alex L Kolodkin  2 , Kang Shen  3 , Garret D Stuber  4
Affiliations
Comment

Building synapses: Using a synthetic approach to bridge synaptic membranes

Christina K Kim et al. Fac Rev. .

Abstract

Synapses are specialized cellular junctions essential for communication between neurons. Synapse loss occurs in many neurodegenerative diseases. Harnessing our molecular knowledge of the development and maintenance of synapses, Suzuki et al. present the first comprehensive attempt to use a synthetic protein to bridge the pre- and postsynaptic membranes1. They show that this powerful approach can stimulate the formation of pre- and postsynaptic specializations in vitro, rescue synaptic deficits of mutant mice in vivo, and ameliorate synapse loss and behavioral abnormalities in both Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injury mouse models.

Keywords: CPTX; ESP; Synapses; synthetic protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Structure of CPTX and how it bridges pre- and postsynaptic membranes
Image showing how CPTX, by incorporating elements of the Cbln1 and NP1 endogenous synaptic organizers, is able to form a bridge across the synaptic cleft between neurexins (Nrxs) on the presynaptic side and postsynaptic AMPA receptors (AMPARs). This image was reproduced with kind permission from M. Mizutani, K. Suzuki, and M. Yuzaki.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • A synthetic synaptic organizer protein restores glutamatergic neuronal circuits.
    Suzuki K, Elegheert J, Song I, Sasakura H, Senkov O, Matsuda K, Kakegawa W, Clayton AJ, Chang VT, Ferrer-Ferrer M, Miura E, Kaushik R, Ikeno M, Morioka Y, Takeuchi Y, Shimada T, Otsuka S, Stoyanov S, Watanabe M, Takeuchi K, Dityatev A, Aricescu AR, Yuzaki M. Suzuki K, et al. Science. 2020 Aug 28;369(6507):eabb4853. doi: 10.1126/science.abb4853. Science. 2020. PMID: 32855309 Free PMC article.

References

    1. Suzuki K, Elegheert J, Song I, Sasakura H, Senkov O, Matsuda K, Kakegawa W, Clayton AJ, Chang VT, Ferrer-Ferrer M, Miura E, Kaushik R, Ikeno M, Morioka Y, Takeuchi Y, Shimada T, Otsuka S, Stoyanov S, Watanabe M, Takeuchi K, Dityatev A, Aricescu AR, Yuzaki M. 2020. A synthetic synaptic organizer protein restores glutamatergic neuronal circuits Science 369:eabb4853. 10.1126/science.abb4853 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

    2. Faculty Opinions Recommendation

    1. Yuzaki M. 2018. Two Classes of Secreted Synaptic Organizers in the Central Nervous System Annu Rev Physiol 80:243–262. 10.1146/annurev-physiol-021317-121322 - DOI - PubMed