| First Author | Wang CY | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Sci Adv | Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 51 | Pages | eabk1924 |
| PubMed ID | 34919427 | Mgi Jnum | J:317210 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6842839 | Doi | 10.1126/sciadv.abk1924 |
| Citation | Wang CY, et al. (2021) Molecular self-avoidance in synaptic neurexin complexes. Sci Adv 7(51):eabk1924 |
| abstractText | Synapses are thought to be organized by interactions of presynaptic neurexins with postsynaptic ligands, particularly with neuroligins and cerebellins. However, when a neuron forms adjacent pre- and postsynaptic specializations, as in dendrodendritic or axo-axonic synapses, nonfunctional cis neurexin/ligand interactions would be energetically favored. Here, we reveal an organizational principle for preventing synaptic cis interactions ("self-avoidance"). Using dendrodendritic synapses between mitral and granule cells in the olfactory bulb as a paradigm, we show that, owing to its higher binding affinity, cerebellin-1 blocks the cis interaction of neurexins with neuroligins, thereby enabling trans neurexin/neuroligin interaction. In mitral cells, ablating either cerebellin-1 or neuroligins severely impaired granule cellmitral cell synapses, as did overexpression of wild-type neurexins but not of mutant neurexins unable to bind to neuroligins. Our data uncover a molecular interaction network that organizes the self-avoidance of nonfunctional neurexin/ligand cis interactions, thus allowing assembly of physiological trans interactions. |
