Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Scientific Correspondence
  • Published:

Persyn, a member of the synuclein family, influences neurofilament network integrity

Nature Neuroscience volume 1, pages 101–103 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Synucleins are small cytosolic proteins expressed in the nervous system; they are localized in synaptic terminals1,2,3 but not tightly associated with either cytoskeletal or vesicular fractions. Alpha-synuclein has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and familial Parkinson's disease because it is present in senile plaques and Lewy bodies, binds amyloid Aβ peptide and is mutated in some families affected by Parkinson's disease2,4,5,6,7, but the cellular functions of synucleins remain elusive. Here we show that a synuclein we term persyn increases the susceptibility of neurofilament-H to calcium-dependent proteases.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Persyn protein in mouse tissues.
Figure 2: Cytoskeletal proteins in neurons overexpressing persyn.
Figure 3: Western blotting/ECL+ detection of proteins in control neurons and neurons cultured for 72 hours after microinjection of the persyn expression plasmid, incubated with or without 10 μM calpeptin.

References

  1. Maroteaux, L., Campanelli, J.T. & Scheller, R.H. J. Neurosci. 8, 2804– 2815 (1988)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Uéda, K. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90, 11282– 11286 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Iwai, A. et al. Neuron 14, 467–475 ( 1995)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Yoshimoto, M. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 92, 9141–9145 (1995)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jensen, P.H. et al. Biochem. J. 323, 539–546 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Spillantini, M.G. et al. Nature 388, 839–840 ( 1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Polymeropoulos, M.H. et al. Science 276, 2045–2047 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Gilbert, D.S. & Newby, B.J. Nature 256, 586–589 (1975)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Wang, S., Hamberger, A., Yang, Q. & Haglid, K.G. J. Neurochem. 62, 739–748 ( 1994)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Banik, N.L., Matzelle, D.C., Gantt-Wilford, G., Osborne, A. & Hogan, E.L. Brain Res. 752, 301–306 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Banik, N.L., Matzelle, D.C., Terry, E. & Hogan, E.L. Brain Res. 748, 205–210 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Krieglstein, J. Clin. Neurosci. 4, 184–193 ( 1997)

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Wong, P.C. & Cleveland, D.W. J. Cell Biol. 111 , 1987–2003 (1990)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Goldman, R.D., Khuon, S., Chou, Y.H., Opal, P. & Steinert, P.M. J. Cell Biol. 134, 971– 983 (1996)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Wellcome Trust. Our thanks to Prof. B Anderton for antibodies, S. Earnshaw and J. Allan for photographic work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological and Medical Sciences, University of St. Andrews, Bute Medical Buildings, Fife, St. Andrews, KY16 9AJ, UK

    Vladimir Buchman, Jimi Adu, Luzia Pinõn, Natalia Ninkina & Alun Davies

  2. Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 34/6 Vavilov Street, Moscow, B-334, Russia

    Natalia Ninkina

  3. Neuropa Ltd., Robertson Building, Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, G11 6NU, UK

    Alun Davies

Authors
  1. Vladimir Buchman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jimi Adu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Luzia Pinõn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Natalia Ninkina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Alun Davies
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vladimir Buchman.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Buchman, V., Adu, J., Pinõn, L. et al. Persyn, a member of the synuclein family, influences neurofilament network integrity. Nat Neurosci 1, 101–103 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/349

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/349

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing