title: Purification of squid synaptic vesicles and characterization of the vesicle-associated proteins synaptobrevin and Rab3A.
abstract: Two proteins associated with mammalian synaptic vesicles, the integral membrane protein synaptobrevin and the GTP-binding protein rab3A, are identified in squid nervous tissue using Western blotting and subcellular fractionation of synaptosomes. They both copurify with synaptic vesicles prepared from squid optic lobe. Synaptobrevin (18.1 kDa) is present at high levels in synaptic terminals but at very low levels in axon. Rab3A (27.5 kDa) is a member of the rab family of low-molecular weight GTP-binding proteins which regulates vesicle traffic in secretory and endocytic processes. As resolved with 2-dimensional gels, squid neurons contain at least 16 GTP-binding species (19-29 kDa), and most of these are present in both soluble and particulate fractions. The 24 kDa class of GTP-binding proteins is highly enriched in axonal transport organelles. The characterization of synaptobrevin and rab3A in squid synaptic vesicles extends their known distributions to invertebrates and points to a fundamental importance of these proteins in neurotransmitter release.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Goldman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D049832:Decapodiformes; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006652:Histological Techniques; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D009899:Optic Lobe, Nonmammalian / Q000648:ultrastructure; D050683:R-SNARE Proteins; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020692:rab3 GTP-Binding Proteins
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D050683:R-SNARE Proteins; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020692:rab3 GTP-Binding Proteins