Synaptic vesicle endocytosis (SVE) is triggered by calcineurin-mediated dephosphorylation of the dephosphin proteins. SVE is maintained by the subsequent rephosphorylation of the dephosphins by unidentified protein kinases. Here, we show that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) phosphorylates dynamin I on Ser 774 and Ser 778 in vitro, which are identical to its endogenous phosphorylation sites in vivo. Cdk5 antagonists and expression of dominant-negative Cdk5 block phosphorylation of dynamin I, but not of amphiphysin or AP180, in nerve terminals and inhibit SVE. Thus Cdk5 has an essential role in SVE and is the first dephosphin kinase identified in nerve terminals.

Dynamin I is dephosphorylated at Ser-774 and Ser-778 during synaptic vesicle endocytosis (SVE) in nerve terminals. Phosphorylation was proposed to regulate assembly of an endocytic protein complex with amphiphysin or endophilin. Instead, we found it recruits syndapin I for SVE and does not control amphiphysin or endophilin binding in rat synaptosomes. After depolarisation, syndapin exhibited a calcineurin-mediated interaction with dynamin. A phosphorylation sitemimicking peptide disrupted the dynamin-syndapin complex, not the dynamin-endophilin complex, arrested SVE and produced glutamate release fatigue after repetitive stimulation. Pseudo-phosphorylation of Ser-774 or Ser-778 inhibited syndapin binding without affecting amphiphysin recruitment. Site mutagenesis to alanine arrested SVE in cultured neurons. The effects of the sites were additive for syndapin I binding and SVE. Thus syndapin I is a central component of the endocytic protein complex for SVE via stimulus-dependent recruitment to dynamin I and plays a key role in synaptic transmission. KeywordsDynamin; syndapin; protein phosphorylation; endocytosis; synaptosomes; neurons Neurons communicate via the release of neurotransmitter by exocytosis from nerve terminals. After exocytosis, synaptic vesicles (SV) are retrieved by endocytosis to accommodate multiple cycles of synaptic transmission. Synaptic vesicle endocytosis (SVE) is triggered by a coordinated calcineurin-dependent dephosphorylation of a group of at least eight proteins called the dephosphins. They are dynamin I, amphiphysin I/II, synaptojanin, epsin, eps15, AP180 and PIP kinase Iγ 1. The dephosphins are constitutively phosphorylated in nerve terminals and their collective rephosphorylation after SVE is necessary for maintaining the continuity of SV recycling and thus maintenance of synaptic transmission. To date only one dephosphin kinase has been identified, cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) 2. It phosphorylates dynamin I, synaptojanin I and PIP kinase Iγ in vivo 2-4 and other dephosphins such as amphiphysin I in vitro 5. Cdk5 activity is required for SVE 2, yet it remains unknown whether each phosphorylation site in these substrates is functionally important for the basic mechanism of SVE and what functional role they serve in the process.Correspondence should be addressed to PJR: Tel, +61-2-9687-2800; Fax, +61-2-9687-2120; E-mail: phrobins@mail.usyd.edu.au.. Europe PMC Funders GroupAuthor Manuscript Nat Neurosci. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2007 November 20. Published Dynamin I is a large GTPase enzyme, the activity of which is required for vesicle fission in SVE 6. The proline-rich domain (PRD) at the C-terminus contains numerous binding motifs for src-3-homology (SH3) domains, through which it interacts with proteins such as amphiphysin I 7, endophilin I 8, and syndapin I 9. The SH3-mediated dynamin I interactions of amphiphysin and endophilin are involved in SVE 10, 11. An emerging idea is that different synaptic proteins like endophilin and amphiphysin are involved in ...

Nemaline myopathy, the most common congenital myopathy, is caused by mutations in genes encoding thin filament and thin filament-associated proteins in skeletal muscles. Severely affected patients fail to survive beyond the first year of life due to severe muscle weakness. There are no specific therapies to combat this muscle weakness. We have generated the first knock-in mouse model for severe nemaline myopathy by replacing a normal allele of the α-skeletal actin gene with a mutated form (H40Y), which causes severe nemaline myopathy in humans. The Acta1(H40Y) mouse has severe muscle weakness manifested as shortened lifespan, significant forearm and isolated muscle weakness and decreased mobility. Muscle pathologies present in the human patients (e.g. nemaline rods, fibre atrophy and increase in slow fibres) were detected in the Acta1(H40Y) mouse, indicating that it is an excellent model for severe nemaline myopathy. Mating of the Acta1(H40Y) mouse with hypertrophic four and a half LIM domains protein 1 and insulin-like growth factor-1 transgenic mice models increased forearm strength and mobility, and decreased nemaline pathologies. Dietary L-tyrosine supplements also alleviated the mobility deficit and decreased the chronic repair and nemaline rod pathologies. These results suggest that L-tyrosine may be an effective treatment for muscle weakness and immobility in nemaline myopathy.

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Y-box-binding protein 1 (YB-1) is an oncogenic transcription factor whose overexpression and nuclear localization is associated with tumor progression and drug resistance. Transcriptional activation of YB-1 in response to genotoxic stress is believed to occur in the cytoplasm through sequence-specific endoproteolytic cleavage by the 20S Proteasome, followed by nuclear translocation of cleaved YB-1. To study the proteolysis model, we developed a two-step affinity purification of endogenous YB-1 protein species and characterized the products using mass spectrometry. Whereas full-length YB-1 was readily identified, the smaller protein band thought to be activated YB-1 was identified as hnRNP A1. An antibody specific for YB-1 was generated, which revealed only one YB-1 species, even after genotoxic stress-induced nuclear YB-1 translocation. These findings warrant re-evaluation of the mechanism of YB-1 nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation. The relationship between nuclear YB-1 and tumor progression may also have to re-evaluated in some cases.