1: In vivo nanoscopic landscape of neurexin ligands underlying anterograde synapse specification
Science of the Month - September 2022
Kazuya Nozawa, Taku Sogabe, Ayumi Hayashi, Junko Motohashi, Eriko Miura, Itaru Arai, Michisuke Yuzaki
The neural networks that govern brain function are formed by various molecules creating synapses that connect nerve cells. However, because these molecules are densely packed within regions of several hundred nanometers inside the synapse, their detailed distribution cannot be observed with the resolution of conventional light microscopes (approximately 200 nm). Therefore, we improved Expansion Microscopy (ExM), a technique that increases resolution by expanding the specimen itself to about 1,000 times its original volume instead of improving the microscope's performance. This allowed us to successfully observe, for the first time and with high clarity, the structure and interrelationships of molecular groups connecting excitatory synapses in mouse neural networks. Furthermore, using this technique, we discovered that synaptic molecules such as neurexins and their binding partners interact in units of tens-of-nanometer "nanodomains" within the synapse, potentially shaping the diverse functions of individual synapses in the brain. It is expected that this technology will further advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control synapses, the foundation of neural circuits. This achievement is the doctoral dissertation of Kazuya Nozawa, and Taku Sogabe, a student at the School of Medicine, also made significant contributions to the improvement of ExM, which was key to the research.
(Michisuke Yuzaki, Department of Physiology, Class of 1989)
Other Published Papers
1: Discovery of CRBN as a target of thalidomide: a breakthrough for progress in the development of protein degraders.
Chemical Society Reviews.
Junichi Yamamoto, Takumi Ito, Yuki Yamaguchia, Hiroshi Handa