Structural and functional studies of inhibitory postsynapse formation and maintenance

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In the transmission of information between neurons the number of neurotransmitter receptors at postsynaptic sites is a critical determinant and therefore must be precisely regulated. This task is accomplished by an intriguing network of receptor-associated proteins, which mediate the underlying processes of receptor anchoring and receptor transport. This proposal investigates key proteins within the postsynaptic network of inhibitory synapses containing GABAA and glycine receptors. Our studies employ biochemical, biophysical, cell biological and structural methods to investigate the contribution of gephyrin, a central organizer of inhibitory synapses, and the guanine nucleotide exchange factor collybistin as well as their binding partners to the clustering of inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors.