Michisuke Yuzaki

Cbln1, secreted from cerebellar granule cells, and the orphan glutamate receptor delta2 (GluD2), expressed by Purkinje cells, are essential for synapse integrity between these neurons in adult mice. Nevertheless, no endogenous binding partners for these molecules have been identified. We found that Cbln1 binds directly to the N-terminal domain of GluD2. GluD2 expression by postsynaptic cells, combined with exogenously applied Cbln1, was necessary and sufficient to induce new synapses in vitro an

Ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) family members are integrated into supramolecular complexes that modulate their location and function at excitatory synapses. However, a lack of structural information beyond isolated receptors or fragments thereof currently limits the mechanistic understanding of physiological iGluR signaling. Here, we report structural and functional analyses of the prototypical molecular bridge linking postsynaptic iGluR δ2 (GluD2) and presynaptic β-neurexin 1 (β-NRX1) vi

Metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) is highly expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. The purpose of this study was pharmacological and immunocytochemical characterization of the mGluR in single cerebellar neurons, especially Purkinje cells. Ca2+ imaging with fura-2 in cultured cerebellar neurons, identified immunocytochemically, was used to record the direct effects of drugs in stable conditions. In addition, the expression of mGluR was examined, and expression of the intracellular receptor

Research in the last two decades has identified many synaptic organizers in the central nervous system that directly regulate the assembly of pre- and/or postsynaptic molecules, such as synaptic vesicles, active zone proteins, and neurotransmitter receptors. They are classified into secreted factors and cell adhesion molecules, such as neurexins and neuroligins. Certain secreted factors are termed extracellular scaffolding proteins (ESPs) because they are components of the synaptic extracellular

Neuronal synapses undergo structural and functional changes throughout life, which are essential for nervous system physiology. However, these changes may also perturb the excitatory-inhibitory neurotransmission balance and trigger neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. Molecular tools to restore this balance are highly desirable. Here, we designed and characterized CPTX, a synthetic synaptic organizer combining structural elements from cerebellin-1 and neuronal pentraxin-1. CPTX can inter

The accumulation of autophagosomes within axons is often observed in axonopathies associated with various neurological disorders, including those following excitotoxic insults. Nevertheless, the life cycle of autophagosomes in axons is not well understood. In the present study, we used microexplant cultures of cerebellar granule cells from GFP-LC3 transgenic mice to perform time-lapse imaging of LC3-positive dots in identified axons. Since these GFP-LC3 dots were never observed in granule cells