Synaptic Machinery for Protein Homeostasis

Our next Special Edition Virtual Pub, “Multiscale Imaging in the Neurosciences,” organized in collaboration with EBRAINS, will take place on Friday, October 27. At this event, we will explore the potential areas of collaboration between EBRAINS and Euro-BioImaging and highlight the expertise of selected Euro-BioImaging Nodes in the Neuroscience domain.

When: October 27, 2023, from 13:00-15:00 CEST

Where: Online

At this event, Chao Sun of the Danish BioImaging Node, explains how single-molecule localization microscopy can support neuroscience research. Join us on Friday, October 27, to hear this talk and others like it.

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Abstract

Synaptic Machinery for Protein Homeostasis

Chao Sun, Danish BioImaging Node

An individual neuron hosts about 10000 synapses in its expansive dendritic and axonal arbor. To support parallel synaptic computation and plasticity, both protein synthesis and degradation machines are localized to remodel individual synaptic proteomes on site. To measure the local protein -synthesis and -degradation capacity, we counted the copy numbers of dendritic ribosomes and proteasomes via single-molecule localization microscopy. In combination with metabolic labeling and single-spine plasticity induction, we reveal the spatial specificity of activity-induced local protein synthesis. The single-molecule resolution further affords quantitative mapping of different proteasome assembly states and reveals a surprising abundance of free regulatory particles 19S in dendrites. These 'solitary' dendritic proteasome regulatory particles regulate synaptic transmission via atypical ubiquitin signaling of key synaptic proteins such as AMPA receptors. As such, synapses can use alternative machine formats to carry out different functions, akin to protein ‘moonlighting’.