RIG/CAA: A Novel Family of Transmembrane Proteins that Regulate Synaptic Differentiation

RIG/CAA：调节突触分化的跨膜蛋白新家族

• 批准号: 0542281
• 负责人: Elva Diaz
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-04-01 至 2008-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0542281&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RIG; CAA; Novel; Family; Transmembrane

The human brain comprises ~100 billion neurons precisely organized into networks by specific cell-cell contacts called synapses that give rise to cognitive phenomena such as emotion, learning and memory, and perception. During development, the intricate and precise patterns of neuronal synapses are formed. Synapse formation is initiated by special proteins at the presynaptic and postsynaptic cell surfaces upon cell-cell contact. Dr. Elva Diaz (Principal Investigator) and members of her laboratory have identified a new group of related proteins that are found at the postsynaptic neuronal cell surface. Interestingly, different family members of this new gene family are expressed in specific brain regions, suggesting a role for these molecules in determining synaptic specificity. Their hypothesis is that these proteins are involved in postsynaptic differentiation and transmit signals to the presynaptic neuron to cause recruitment of synaptic vesicles, the first step in the formation of new synapses. In this application, Dr. Diaz proposes experiments using genetic manipulations in mice and methods to identify other molecules with which these proteins interact in order to understand how this interesting class of proteins functions during synapse formation.The broader impacts of the proposed activities include integration of the research and education activities specifically in the context of broadening the participation of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups (primarily Hispanic/Latino). As an active participant in campus programs aimed to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing postgraduate degrees in science, Dr. Diaz is in a strong position to recruit such students to her laboratory as members of the research team for this proposal. Undergraduate participation will be directed by Dr. Diaz in conjunction with doctoral students in the laboratory, thereby integrating research, teaching, and community outreach activities for students pursuing graduate studies in the Diaz laboratory.

人类大脑由约1000亿个神经元组成，这些神经元通过称为突触的特定细胞间接触精确地组织成网络，这些突触产生认知现象，如情感，学习和记忆以及感知。在发育过程中，神经元突触的复杂和精确的模式形成。突触的形成是由突触前和突触后细胞表面的特殊蛋白质在细胞与细胞接触时启动的。埃尔瓦迪亚兹博士（首席研究员）和她的实验室成员已经确定了一组新的相关蛋白质，这些蛋白质在突触后神经元细胞表面发现。有趣的是，这个新基因家族的不同家族成员在特定的大脑区域表达，这表明这些分子在决定突触特异性方面的作用。他们的假设是，这些蛋白质参与突触后分化，并将信号传递到突触前神经元，引起突触囊泡的募集，这是形成新突触的第一步。在本申请中，迪亚兹博士提出了在小鼠中进行基因操作的实验，以及确定这些蛋白质相互作用的其他分子的方法，以了解这类有趣的蛋白质在突触形成过程中的功能。拟议活动的更广泛影响包括将研究和教育活动结合起来，特别是在扩大代表性不足的群体的本科生参与的背景下（主要是拉丁裔）。作为校园计划的积极参与者，旨在增加攻读科学研究生学位的代表性不足的学生人数，迪亚兹博士处于有利地位，可以招募这些学生到她的实验室作为这项提案的研究小组成员。本科生的参与将由博士指导迪亚兹与实验室的博士生一起，从而为在迪亚兹实验室攻读研究生的学生整合研究，教学和社区推广活动。