Two proteolytic fragments of menin coordinate the nuclear transcription and postsynaptic clustering of neurotransmitter receptors during synaptogenesis between Lymnaea neurons

• DOI: 10.1038/srep31779
• Publication Date: 2016-08-19T11:27:53Z
• Authors: Angela M. Getz; Frank Visser; Erin M. Bell; Fenglian Xu; Nichole M. Flynn; Wali Zaidi; Naweed I. Syed
• Keywords: Synaptogenesis; Neurotransmitter receptor; Excitatory synapse

Abstract Synapse formation and plasticity depend on nuclear transcription site-specific protein targeting, but the molecular mechanisms that coordinate these steps have not been well defined. The MEN1 tumor suppressor gene, which encodes menin, is known to induce synapse in CNS. This synaptogenic function has conserved across evolution, however underlying remain unidentified. Here, using central neurons from invertebrate Lymnaea stagnalis , we demonstrate menin coordinates subunit-specific transcriptional regulation synaptic clustering of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) during neurotrophic factor (NTF)-dependent excitatory synaptogenesis, via two proteolytic fragments generated by calpain cleavage. Whereas largely regarded as a protein, our data novel cytoplasmic at synapses. Furthermore, this study identifies mechanism single gene product postsynaptic targeting neurotransmitter through distinct functions differentially localized fragments.