Elucidating the Role of the Fragile-X Mental Retardation Protein in the Central Nervous System
The discovery that proteins are synthesized at synapses, away from somata where most proteins are made, is fairly recent, and only a couple of proteins are currently known to be made near synapses; none have been shown to be made in response to changes in the synaptic environment. Proteins made in response to afferent activity at synapses are likely candidates to be involved with the plasticity (functional, structural, or both) of synapses, as afferent activation is largely responsible for the postnatal organization of the nervous system. In attempts to discern which proteins are made at synapses specifically for involvement in synaptic plasticity, it was discovered that fmr -1 mRNA, a product of the FMR-1 gene, associates rapidly with protein synthesis machinery in response to neurotransmitter stimulation in an in vitro synaptoneurosome preparation. This suggested that the Fragile-X Mental Retardation Protein, the product of fmr-1 mRNA, is synthesized at synapses in response to afferent activation and is possibly involved in synaptic plasticity. The following studies attempt to further link the expression/function of this protein with synaptic plasticity processes.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign