Membrane protein mystery solved: May lead to better treatments for people with learning deficits
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - 14:30
in Biology & Nature
A research team has solved a 25-year mystery that may lead to better treatments for people with learning deficits and mental retardation. Synaptophysin is the first protein and most abundant ever found on the membranes surrounding the tiny sacs that carry chemical messengers to synapses, the gaps where communication between nerve cells occurs. But even though the loss of synaptophysin has recently been linked to learning deficits and mental retardation, scientists have been unable for more than a quarter-century to explain what it actually does. Now researchers have shown that synaptophysin controls the replacement of the constantly needed sacs, also known as vesicles.