Deletion of β-Neurexins in Mice Alters the Distribution of Dense-Core Vesicles in Presynapses of Hippocampal and Cerebellar Neurons.

ABSTRACT: Communication between neurons through synapses includes the release of neurotransmitter-containing synaptic vesicles (SVs) and of neuromodulator-containing dense-core vesicles (DCVs). Neurexins (Nrxns), a polymorphic family of cell surface molecules encoded by three genes in vertebrates (Nrxn1-3), have been proposed as essential presynaptic organizers and as candidates for cell type-specific or even synapse-specific regulation of synaptic vesicle exocytosis. However, it remains unknown whether Nrxns also regulate DCVs. Here, we report that at least β-neurexins (β-Nrxns), an extracellularly smaller Nrxn variant, are involved in the distribution of presynaptic DCVs. We found that conditional deletion of all three β-Nrxn isoforms in mice by lentivirus-mediated Cre recombinase expression in pr

SUBMITTER: Ferdos S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8841415 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature