for sophisticated brain function
A gene found at high levels only in the brain appears to be a key player in enabling more sophisticated brain function, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the April 26 issue of Science.
The finding about the gene, dynamin 1, could have widespread implications since members of the dynamin gene family are needed for the body to absorb nutrients, to grow and respond to insulin, and even for viruses to gain entry into cells.
"We envision that the lessons we learn about the role of dynamin 1 may prove widely applicable to understanding the biology of many cell types in both healthy states and disease states," says Pietro DeCamilli, professor of cell biology and neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and senior author of the study.
Dynamin encodes a protein implicated in endocytosis, which is when cells absorb material from the outside by engulfing it with their cell membranes. There has been considerable evidence that dynamin 1 is required for a specialized form of endocytosis in brain cells that is responsible for generating the synaptic vesicles that store and release neurotransmitters.
To test this hypothesis, DeCamilli and his colleagues disrupted the dynamin 1 gene in mice and found, to their surprise, that the mice developed normally up until the time of birth. They were initially able to move and feed just like the other mice. Only subsequently did the mutant mice develop neurological impairments and a failure to thrive that led to death within two weeks after birth.
"It was quite striking that their nervous system could support synaptic transmission in the absence of dynamin 1, which is by far the major brain dynamin," DeCamilli said.
Shawn Ferguson, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab and first author of the study, says detailed functional and ultrastructural analysis of mutant synapses revealed that synaptic vesicles can re-form in the absence of dynamin 1. "This protein becomes essential for synaptic vesicle endocytosis and recycling only under conditions of intense synaptic activity," he says.
DeCamilli says the properties of dynamin 1 and its binding partners that make them optimally adapted to function in the context of a simulated synapse are being investigated. It is expected that these studies will reveal new important features of synaptic physiology.
-- By Jacqueline Weaver
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University will hold its 306th Commencement May 28
'Oprah Show' hails first grandmother to earn Yale M.D.
Global health expert to head Yale's World Fellows Program
Trachtenberg reflects on her 20 years as 'Betty T.'
Inside the Forbidden City
Summertime at Yale
University to host international symposium on music education ...
Law School to train legal journalists, media lawyers
Campus celebrates its first African-American graduate
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
R. Lawrence Moss is appointed to Pritzker Chair
John A. Persing named to Polayes Professorship
Robert T. Schultz is new Harris Associate Professor
University names its first director of sustainable transportation systems
Graduate School students applaud faculty mentors
Eight faculty members elected to the AAAS
Three Yale scholars are new members of the APS
Peter Reinhardt named director of Yale's Office of Environmental ...
Kim Bottomly named president of Wellesley College
First-Year Building Program's 40th anniversary
Festival highlights 'revolutionary' artists and thinkers
Peabody Museum exhibit to showcase award-winning wildlife photography
Study finds dynamin 1 gene is critical for sophisticated brain function
Researchers examine why children (and some adults) are resistant ...
Three student scientists win Goldwater Scholarships
Archer named one of Glamour's 'Top 10 College Women'
Council of Masters presents awards to 10 juniors for their contributions
Ten Yale-China Teaching Fellows to begin appointments this summer
Top judges reach 'verdict' in law students' moot court trial
Dr. Lockwood's latest honors include 'Pulitzer Prize of the business press'
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home