SYNAPTIC ADHESION MOLECULES IN THE PANCREATIC ISLETS

该子项目是利用NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为中心机构，不一定为研究者机构。胰岛和神经元之间存在关键的相似之处是众所周知的。我们现在已经发现胰岛表达一组与抑制性突触特异性相关的蛋白质。特别令人感兴趣的是，这些蛋白质中的一些是最近发现的突触粘附分子neuroligin，neurexin和syncam。这些蛋白质的表达已显示在多种模型中诱导突触形成。我们假设这些蛋白质介导胰岛中的细胞-细胞相互作用。此外，我们假设这些蛋白质标记的胰岛细胞膜上的区域，作为突触前和突触后密度的功能。NCMIR的专业知识和资源特别适合帮助我们定位这些突触蛋白并测试它们是否形成突触样结构。胰岛中突触的发现对于理解胰岛如何维持葡萄糖稳态以及为什么聚集的细胞比单个细胞对葡萄糖浓度变化的反应更强烈具有根本重要性。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. That there are key similarities between the pancreatic islets and neurons has been long-known. We have now discovered that the pancreatic islets express a group of proteins specifically associated with inhibitory synapses. It is of particular interest that some of these proteins are the recently-discovered synaptic adhesion molecules neuroligin, neurexin and syncam. Expression of these proteins has been shown to induce synapse formation in a variety of models. We hypothesize that these proteins mediate cell-cell interactions in the pancreatic islets. Furthermore, we hypothesize that these proteins mark regions on the islet cell membranes that function as pre- and post-synaptic densities. The expertise and resources of the NCMIR are especially well-suited to help us localize these synaptic proteins and test whether they form synaptic-like structures. The discovery of synapses in the pancreatic islets would be of fundamental importance in understanding how the islets function to maintain glucose homeostasis and why the aggregated cells respond so much more robustly to changes in glucose concentration than individual cells.