Investigation of synapse development using a single neuron system illuminates how individual neurons specify connectivity with their postsynaptic partners and the central role of the synaptic organizer neurexin in this process.
Disruption of the disease-associated synaptic adhesion molecule Neurexin1a in cortical excitatory neurons perturbs decision making and disrupts value-associated neural activity in downstream striatal circuits.
A combination of mouse genetics and biochemistry approaches reveals neurexophilin4 (Nxph4) as a context-specific α-neurexin ligand, which regulates Golgi-granule cell inhibitory synapses and motor functions.
Axonal arborisation growth is regulated by dynamic, focal localisations of Neurexin and Neuroligin that provide stability for filopodia, enabling a 'stick and grow'-based mechanism, wholly independent of synapse formation.
Interneuron-specific alternative splice variants of the synaptic receptor neurexin are critical for hippocampal network activity and short-term memory.
Trans-synaptic protein interactions are required for synapse specification and function, and the combination between neuroligin3 and αneurexin1 controls inhibitory synaptic function in a splice isoform- and interneuron-specific manner.
Neurexin–Neuroligin1 complex positively regulates F-actin assembly through direct interaction with WAVE complex to control normal synaptic growth and electrophysiological function in Drosophila neuromuscular junction.
Inclusion of a neuroligin alternatively spliced insert that interacts with a neurexin glycan modification promote development of functional synaptic connections between neurons and may help alleviate consequences of NLGN mutations.
A technique called selected reaction monitoring can quantitatively detect highly diversified protein isoforms and their association with specific neuronal structures and complexes.