RUI: Modulation of synaptic vesicle exocytosis in C. elegans

细胞通过胞吐作用向外界释放各种产物。在神经系统中，胞吐介导包括神经递质在内的化学物质的释放，许多高度保守的蛋白质已被证明控制这一过程。在这个项目中，一个假设将被验证，即最初在酵母中发现的一种蛋白质，VSM-1，可能调节多细胞动物神经系统的胞吐。为了验证这一假设，将通过研究秀丽隐杆线虫在分子、细胞和整个生物体水平上产生的变化来检查VSM-1基因编码突变的影响。在细胞水平上，将确定缺乏该基因的突变体中神经元之间的通信是否受损。最后，整个突变动物将使用药理学测试和荧光显微镜检查。初步未发表的数据显示，含有VSM-1基因突变的秀丽隐杆线虫菌株比野生型动物更活跃，有更多的神经末梢。由于目前还没有关于VSM-1在多细胞动物中的功能的报道，因此从这一提议中对VSM-1机制的深入了解将促进对包括人类在内的高等动物神经系统的理解。拟议的研究还将显著加强和促进学生在神经科学领域的培训，因为它将主要由俄克拉荷马州西南州立大学（SWOSU）的本科生进行，这是俄克拉荷马州西部农村的一所教学机构，致力于研究。

Cells release various products to the outside through a process called exocytosis. In the nervous system, exocytosis mediates the release of chemicals including neurotransmitters, and a number of highly conserved proteins have been shown to control this process. In this project, a hypothesis will be tested that one protein originally discovered in yeast, VSM-1, may regulate exocytosis in the nervous system of multicellular animals. To test this hypothesis, the impact of mutating the gene coding for VSM-1 will be examined by studying the resulting changes at the level of molecules, cells, and whole organisms in C. elegans. At the cellular level, it will be determined if communication between neurons is impaired in mutants lacking the gene. Finally, whole mutant animals will be examined using pharmacological tests and fluorescent microscopy. Preliminary unpublished data showed that C. elegans strains containing the mutation in the VSM-1 gene are hyperactive and have more nerve endings than wild type animals. Insights into the mechanism of VSM-1 from this proposal will advance understanding of the nervous system of higher animals, including humans, because there are no reports yet on the function of VSM-1 in multicellular animals. The proposed research will also significantly enhance and promote students' training in the field of neuroscience since it will primarily be conducted by undergraduate students enrolled at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), a teaching institution in rural western Oklahoma with a growing commitment to research.