 | Eileen Lafer
Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, United States of America | | | Faculty Member: Neuroscience > Neuronal Signalling Mechanisms [ since 25 February 2003 ] |
| | [ Biography ] [ Homepage ] [ Evaluations ] | Biography
Research Interests:
Neurotransmission is a cycle of exo- and endocytosis. Following depolarization and calcium influx synaptic vesicles fuse with the presynaptic plasma membrane and release their neurotransmitter cargo into the synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the cleft and bind to receptors on the post-synaptic plasma membrane, thereby propagating the nerve impulse. The synaptic vesicle membrane proteins are then recovered by the presynaptic terminal, and reutilized for the local biogenesis of new synaptic vesicles. We have demonstrated that the clathrin pathway is essential for synaptic vesicle endocytosis in vivo. We have reconstituted the assembly and uncoating reactions from purified components in vitro, and have characterized the protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions underlying clathrin coated vesicle assembly and disassembly. We are particularly interested in understanding how coated vesicle dynamics are regulated. We have evidence that both protein phosphorylation and lipid phosphorylationcontribute to this process. A variety of biochemical and physiological approaches including directed mutagenesis, surface plasmon resonance (Biacore), analytical ultracentrifugation, microinjection into the squid giant synapse, as well as the preparation of proteins and endocytic complexes in large amounts for crystallization and structure determination are being utilized.
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http://www.uthscsa.edu/faculty/lafer.html |
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