Subcellular Targeting of a Presynaptic Nerve Terminal Protein, SNAP-25

大脑的功能、记忆、学习和行为都严重依赖于神经细胞来传递、处理和存储信息。为了完成这些任务，神经元拥有独特的结构——它们的细胞体（树突和轴突）的延伸——终止（突触）在其他细胞上，允许它们之间的电和化学交流。这些突触连接是神经递质储存、释放、合成和循环的局部位置。表征突触的分子和化学成分，如蛋白质SNAP-25，是了解神经系统的重要研究目标。SNAP-25是一种仅在成熟神经系统的神经末梢中发现的重要蛋白质，似乎在动物王国中一直保存下来，这表明它具有重要的神经系统功能。

The function of the brain, memory and learning and behavior is critically dependent on nerve cells to transmit, process and store information. To fulfill these tasks neurons possess unique structures - extensions of their cell body (dendrites and axons)- that terminate (synapse) on other cells to allow electrical and chemical communication between them. These synaptic junctions are the localized sites where neurotransmitters are stored, released, synthesized and recycled. The characterization of the molecular and chemical components of the synapse such as the protein SNAP-25, is an important goal of research in the understanding of the nervous system. SNAP-25 is a prominent protein found in nerve terminals of the mature nervous system only and seems to be preserved up through the animal kingdom suggesting that it has important nervous system function.