Effect of juxtamembrane tryptophans on the immersion depth of Synaptobrevin, an integral vesicle membrane protein

Colin DeMill
Marzena Serwin
The most exciting science often stems from interdisciplinary collaboration, and this week we recognize one such collaboration between Chemistry and Biology.

Ph.D.  graduate Dr. Sameer Al-Abdul-Wahid (Prosser Lab), Biology Ph.D. student Colin DeMill (right photo) and recent M.Sc. graduate Marzena Serwin (left photo) (Stewart Lab) recently published a paper in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. In this paper, they investigated the role of conserved neuronal-Synaptobrevin in the membrane. n-Syb is a vesicle associated membrane protein that combines with other SNARE proteins to mediate vesicle fusion and neurotransmitter release. They show that decreasing tryptophan content resulted in decreased anchoring and deeper immersion in a membrane model using 19F NMR. This paper lends strength to the hypothesis that membrane anchoring, mediated by interfacial tryptophan, is necessary for neurotransmitter release.

Congratulations on this exciting collaborative effort!

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