title: Synaptic Vesicle Clusters at Synapses: A Distinct Liquid Phase?
abstract: Phase separation in the cytoplasm is emerging as a major principle in intracellular organization. In this process, sets of macromolecules assemble themselves into liquid compartments that are distinct from the surrounding medium but are not delimited by membrane boundaries. Here, we discuss how phase separation, in which a component of one of the two phases is vesicles rather than macromolecules, could underlie the formation of synaptic vesicle (SV) clusters in proximity to presynaptic sites. The organization of SVs into a liquid phase could explain how SVs remain tightly clustered without being stably bound to a scaffold so that they can be efficiently recruited to release site by active zone components.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Dragomir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Milovanovic
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. Electronic address: pietro.decamilli@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Camilli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism*; D016704:Synapsins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016704:Synapsins
keywords: exocytosis; intrinsically disordered region; liquid phase; phase separation; synapse; synapsin 1; synaptic vesicle clusters; synaptic vesicles