Mover Is a Homomeric Phospho-Protein Present on Synaptic Vesicles

With remarkably few exceptions, the molecules mediating synaptic vesicle exocytosis at active zones are structurally and functionally conserved between vertebrates and invertebrates. Mover was found in a yeast-2-hybrid assay using the vertebrate-specific active zone scaffolding protein bassoon as a bait. Peptides of Mover have been reported in proteomics screens for self-interacting proteins, phosphorylated proteins, and synaptic vesicle proteins, respectively. Here, we tested the predictions arising from these screens. Using flotation assays, carbonate stripping of peripheral membrane proteins, mass spectrometry, immunogold labelling of purified synaptic vesicles, and immuno-organelle isolation, we found that Mover is indeed a peripheral synaptic vesicle membrane protein. In addition, by generating an antibody against phosphorylated Mover and Western blot analysis of fractionated rat brain, we found that Mover is a bona fide phospho-protein. The localization of Mover to synaptic vesicles is phosphorylation dependent; treatment with a phosphatase caused Mover to dissociate from synaptic vesicles. A yeast-2-hybrid screen, co-immunoprecipitation and cell-based optical assays of homomerization revealed that Mover undergoes homophilic interaction, and regions within both the N- and C- terminus of the protein are required for this interaction. Deleting a region required for homomeric interaction abolished presynaptic targeting of recombinant Mover in cultured neurons. Together, these data prove that Mover is associated with synaptic vesicles, and implicate phosphorylation and multimerization in targeting of Mover to synaptic vesicles and presynaptic sites.peerReviewe

TrkB/BDNF-Dependent Striatal Plasticity and Behavior in a Genetic Model of Epilepsy: Modulation by Valproic Acid

In mice lacking the central domain of the presynaptic scaffold Bassoon the occurrence of repeated cortical seizures induces cell-type-specific plasticity changes resulting in a general enhancement of the feedforward inhibition within the striatal microcircuit. Early antiepileptic treatment with valproic acid (VPA) reduces epileptic attacks, inhibits the emergence of pathological form of plasticity in fast-spiking (FS) interneurons and restores physiological striatal synaptic plasticity in medium spiny (MS) neurons. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a key factor for the induction and maintenance of synaptic plasticity and it is also implicated in the mechanisms underlying epilepsy-induced adaptive changes. In this study, we explore the possibility that the TrkB/BDNF system is involved in the striatal modifications associated with the Bassoon gene (Bsn) mutation. In epileptic mice abnormal striatum-dependent learning was paralleled by higher TrkB levels and an altered distribution of BDNF. Accordingly, subchronic intrastriatal administration of k252a, an inhibitor of TrkB receptor tyrosine kinase activity, reversed behavioral alterations in Bsn mutant mice. In addition, in vitro manipulations of the TrkB/BDNF complex by k252a, prevented the emergence of pathological plasticity in FS interneurons. Chronic treatment with VPA, by reducing seizures, was able to rebalance TrkB to control levels favoring a physiological redistribution of BDNF between MS neurons and FS interneurons with a concomitant recovery of striatal plasticity. Our results provide the first indication that BDNF is involved in determining the striatal alterations occurring in the early-onset epileptic syndrome associated with the absence of presynaptic protein Bassoon