Topic: trans-synaptic signaling

Neurons communicate via synapses to allow normal brain functions such as cognition, memory formation, and learning. In these processes, synapses show plasticity and can be remodeled. Synapse formation is driven by synapse-organizing proteins that span the synaptic cleft to orchestrate the alignment of pre- and postsynaptic molecules. Recently, presynaptic α2δ proteins have been identified as crucial organizers of synapses by regulating axonal wiring, presynaptic differentiation, and postsynaptic receptor clustering. So far, α2δ proteins have been extensively studied as subunits of the voltage-

Cognitive impairment and disturbed excitatory-inhibitory balance in the brain have been linked to severe psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, affective disorders, and autism spectrum disorders. Erythropoietin (EPO) may have a role in mitigating them by rectifying hippocampal transcriptional networks and synaptic architectures of pyramidal lineages when administered to juvenile mice. How EPO involves interneurons to rebuild synapses is an impending puzzle. After examining ~12,000 single-nuclei transcriptomic data, we generated a comprehensive molecular atlas of hippocampal interneurons,

Dopamine transmission is involved in reward processing and motor control, and its impairment plays a central role in numerous neurological disorders. Despite its strong pathophysiological relevance, the molecular and structural organization of the dopaminergic synapse remains to be established. We used targeted labeling and fluorescence-activated sorting to purify striatal dopaminergic synaptosomes. Our data reveal the adhesion of dopaminergic varicosities to glutamatergic, GABAergic, or cholinergic synapses in tripartite structures we named “dopamine hub synapses.” We provide the proteome of