Bassoon, a novel zinc-finger CAG/glutamine-repeat protein selectively localized at the active zone of presynaptic nerve terminals.

ABSTRACT: The molecular architecture of the cytomatrix of presynaptic nerve terminals is poorly understood. Here we show that Bassoon, a novel protein of >400,000 Mr, is a new component of the presynaptic cytoskeleton. The murine bassoon gene maps to chromosome 9F. A comparison with the corresponding rat cDNA identified 10 exons within its protein-coding region. The Bassoon protein is predicted to contain two double-zinc fingers, several coiled-coil domains, and a stretch of polyglutamines (24 and 11 residues in rat and mouse, respectively). In some human proteins, e.g., Huntingtin, abnormal amplification of such poly-glutamine regions causes late-onset neurodegeneration. Bassoon is highly enriched in synaptic protein preparations. In cultured hippocampal neurons, Bassoon colocalizes with the synapt

SUBMITTER: tom Dieck S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2133055 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature