Evidence that synaptic vesicles (SVs) can be gated by a single voltage sensitive calcium channel (CaV2.2) predict a molecular linking mechanism or “tether” (Stanley, 1993). Recent studies have proposed that the SV binds to the distal C-terminal on the CaV2.2 calcium channel (Kaeser et al., 2011; Wong et al., 2013) while genetic analysis proposed a double tether mechanism via RIM: directly to the C terminus PDZ ligand domain or indirectly via a more proximal proline rich site (Kaeser et al., 2011). Using a novel in vitro SV pull down binding assay, we reported that SVs bind to a fusion protein comprising the C-terminal distal third (C3, aa 2137–2357; Wong et al., 2013). Here we limit the binding site further to the last 58 aa, beyond the proline rich site, by the absence of SV capture by a truncated C3 fusion protein (aa 2137–2299). To test PDZ-dependent binding we generated two C terminus-mutant C3 fusion proteins and a mimetic blocking peptide (H-WC, aa 2349–2357) and validated these by elimination of MINT-1 or RIM binding. Persistence of SV capture with all three fusion proteins or with the full length C3 protein but in the presence of blocking peptide, demonstrated that SVs can bind to the distal C-terminal via a PDZ-independent mechanism. These results were supported in situ by normal SV turnover in H-WC-loaded synaptosomes, as assayed by a novel peptide cryoloading method. Thus, SVs tether to the CaV2.2 C-terminal within a 49 aa region immediately prior to the terminus PDZ ligand domain. Long tethers that could reflect extended C termini were imaged by electron microscopy of synaptosome ghosts. To fully account for SV tethering we propose a model where SVs are initially captured, or “grabbed,” from the cytoplasm by a binding site on the distal region of the channel C-terminal and are then retracted to be “locked” close to the channel by a second attachment mechanism in preparation for single channel domain gating.

Neurotransmitter is released from synaptic vesicles (SVs) that are gated to fuse with the presynaptic membrane by calcium ions that enter through voltage-gated calcium channels (CaVs). There is compelling evidence that SVs associate closely with the CaVs but the molecular linking mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using a cell-free, synaptic vesicle-pull-down assay method (SV-PD) we have recently demonstrated that SVs can bind both to the intact CaV2.2 channel and also to a fusion protein comprising the distal third, C3 segment, of its long C-terminal. This site was localized to a 49 amino acid region just proximal to the C-terminal tip. To further restrict the SV binding site we generated five, 10 amino acid mimetic blocking peptides spanning this region. Of these, HQARRVPNGY effectively inhibited SV-PD and also inhibited SV recycling when cryoloaded into chick brain nerve terminals (synaptosomes). Further, SV-PD was markedly reduced using a C3 fusion protein that lacked the HQARRVPNGY sequence, C3HQless. We zeroed in on the SV binding motif within HQARRVPNGY by means of a palette of mutant blocking peptides. To our surprise, peptides that lacked the highly conserved VPNGY sequence still blocked SV-PD. However, substitution of the HQ and RR amino acids markedly reduced block. Of these, the RR pair was essential but not sufficient as the full block was not observed without H suggesting a CaV2.2 SV binding motif of HxxRR. Interestingly, CaV2.1, the other primary presynaptic calcium channel, exhibits a similar motif, RHxRR, that likely serves the same function. Bioinformatic analysis showed that variations of this binding motif, +(+) xRR (where + is a positively charged aa H or R), are conserved from lung-fish to man. Further studies will be necessary to identify the C terminal motif binding partner on the SV itself and to determine the role of this molecular interaction in synaptic transmission. We hypothesize that the distal C-terminal participates in the capture of the SVs from the cytoplasm, initiating their delivery to the active zone where additional tethering interactions secure the vesicle within range of the CaV single Ca2+ domains.

SummaryCalcium entry through CaV2.2 calcium channels clustered at the active zone (AZ) of the presynaptic nerve terminal gates synaptic vesicle (SV) fusion and the discharge of neurotransmitters, but the mechanism of channel scaffolding remains poorly understood. Recent studies have implicated the binding of a PDZ ligand domain (PDZ-LD) at the tip of the channel C terminal to a partner PDZ domain on RIM1/2, a synaptic vesicle-associated protein. To explore CaV2.2 scaffolding, we created intracellular region fusion proteins and used these to test for binding by ‘fishing’ for native CaV2.2 channels from cell lysates. Fusion proteins mimicking the distal half of the channel C terminal (C3strep) reliably captured CaV2.2 from whole brain crude membrane or purified synaptosome membrane lysates, whereas channel I–II loop or the distal half of the II–III loop proteins were negative. This capture could be replicated in a non-synaptic environment using CaV2.2 expressed in a cell line. The distal tip PDZ-LD, DDWC-COOH, was confirmed as the critical binding site by block of pull-down with mimetic peptides. Pull-down experiments using brain crude membrane lysates confirmed that RIM1/2 can bind to the DDWC PDZ-LD. However, robust CaV2.2 capture was observed from synaptosome membrane or in the cell line expression system with little or no RIM1/2 co-capture. Thus, we conclude that CaV2.2 channels can scaffold to each other via an interaction that involves the PDZ-LD by an inter-channel linkage bridged by an unknown protein.

A number of known and new Ca V 2.2-associated proteins were identified, but not the channel itself. Here we set out to explore this anomaly. As previously, we used antibody Ab571 to capture the channel from purified synaptosome membrane lysate. We prepared a brain membrane lysate enriched for presynaptic active zones using standard methods to fractionate purified synaptosomes. These were osmotically lysed to generate a fraction enriched in presynaptic surface membranes. The lysate was solubilized in modified RIPA buffer and was passed over anti-Ca V 2.2 antibody covalently bonded to immunoprecipitation beads. Captured complexes on the beads were then stripped of weakly-bound proteins by exposure to high salt to enrich the channel fraction. Proteins remaining bound to the sample were recovered in high concentration urea and the sample was subjected to standard enzyme digestion and MS analysis. We identified 12 distinct Ca V 2.2 peptides, but no other ion channel peptides, in the lysate-exposed bead sample but no other ion channel peptides were recovered. Interestingly one of the channel peptides was derived from the alternatively spliced, long-C terminal region. Hence, confidence in identification of Ca V 2.2 was beyond reasonable doubt. The identification of the long-splice Ca V 2.2 provides compelling evidence that this variant is targeted to the presynaptic terminal, as we and others have suggested.

At chemical synapses the incoming action potential triggers the influx of Ca2+ through voltage-sensitive calcium channels (CaVs, typically CaV2.1 and 2.2) and the ions binds to sensors associated with docked, transmitter filled synaptic vesicles (SVs), triggering their fusion and discharge. The CaVs and docked SVs are located within the active zone (AZ) region of the synapse which faces a corresponding neurotransmitter receptor-rich region on the post-synaptic cell. Evidence that the fusion of a SV can be gated by Ca2+ influx through a single CaV suggests that the channel and docked vesicle are linked by one or more molecular tethers (Stanley, 1993). Short and long fibrous SV-AZ linkers have been identified in presynaptic terminals by electron microscopy and we recently imaged these in cytosol-vacated synaptosome ‘ghosts.’ Using CaV fusion proteins combined with blocking peptides we previously identified a SV binding site near the tip of the CaV2.2 C-terminal suggesting that this intracellular channel domain participates in SV tethering. In this study, we combined the synaptosome ghost imaging method with immunogold labeling to localize CaV intracellular domains. L45, raised against the C-terminal tip, tagged tethered SVs often as far as 100 nm from the AZ membrane whereas NmidC2, raised against a C-terminal mid-region peptide, and C2Nt, raised against a peptide nearer the C-terminal origin, resulted in gold particles that were proportionally closer to the AZ. Interestingly, the observation of gold-tagged SVs with NmidC2 suggests a novel SV binding site in the C-terminal mid region. Our results implicate the CaV C-terminal in SV tethering at the AZ with two possible functions: first, capturing SVs from the nearby cytoplasm and second, contributing to the localization of the SV close to the channel to permit single domain gating.