Neurons must cope with extreme membrane trafficking demands to produce axons with organelle compositions that differ dramatically from those of the cell soma and dendrites; however, the mechanism by which they accomplish this is not understood. Here we use electron microscopy and quantitative imaging of tagged organelles to show that Caenorhabditis elegans axons lacking UNC-16 (JIP3/Sunday Driver) accumulate Golgi, endosomes, and lysosomes at levels up to 10-fold higher than wild type, while ER membranes are largely unaffected. Time lapse microscopy of tagged lysosomes in living animals and an analysis of lysosome distributions in various regions of unc-16 mutant axons revealed that UNC-16 inhibits organelles from escaping the axon initial segment (AIS) and moving to the distal synaptic part of the axon. Immunostaining of native UNC-16 in C. elegans neurons revealed a localized concentration of UNC-16 at the initial segment, although UNC-16 is also sparsely distributed in distal regions of axons, including the synaptic region. Organelles that escape the AIS in unc-16 mutants show bidirectional active transport within the axon commissure that occasionally deposits them in the synaptic region, where their mobility decreases and they accumulate. These results argue against the long-standing, untested hypothesis that JIP3/Sunday Driver promotes anterograde organelle transport in axons and instead suggest an organelle gatekeeper model in which UNC-16 (JIP3/Sunday Driver) selectively inhibits the escape of Golgi and endosomal organelles from the AIS. This is the first evidence for an organelle gatekeeper function at the AIS, which could provide a regulatory node for controlling axon organelle composition. NEURONS have a unique cell biology that presents daunting membrane trafficking challenges. For example, they must selectively transport two classes of regulated secretory vesicles (synaptic vesicles and dense core vesicles) long distances into axons, but only after the vesicles have completed their maturation process in the cell soma, during which they arise from, and interact with, other organelles in the soma. Neurons must also restrict, or even prevent, the flow of some organelles, such as Golgi, lysosomes, and endosomes, into the distal synaptic region of axons, which are relatively devoid of these organelles compared to cell somas.However, under special conditions, such as the need for axon repair or growth, neurons may require these organelles in axons. The potential hazards of excessive organelle transport into axons may include organelle traffic jams within narrow axons, reduced synaptic vesicle production as synaptic vesicle proteins are transported away from the cell soma before they are assembled into mature vesicles, and the disruption of membrane trafficking pathways in the synaptic region of axons caused by the inappropriate presence of cell soma organelles.A crucial regulatory domain for controlling axon composition is the region at or near the junction of the cell soma and axon, designated th...

Neurons release neuropeptides via the regulated exocytosis of dense core vesicles (DCVs) to evoke or modulate behaviors. We found that Caenorhabditis elegans motor neurons send most of their DCVs to axons, leaving very few in the cell somas. How neurons maintain this skewed distribution and the extent to which it can be altered to control DCV numbers in axons or to drive release from somas for different behavioral impacts is unknown. Using a forward genetic screen, we identified loss-of-function mutations in UNC-43 (CaM kinase II) that reduce axonal DCV levels by 90% and cell soma/dendrite DCV levels by 80%, leaving small synaptic vesicles largely unaffected. Blocking regulated secretion in unc-43 mutants restored near wild-type axonal levels of DCVs. Time-lapse video microscopy showed no role for CaM kinase II in the transport of DCVs from cell somas to axons. In vivo secretion assays revealed that much of the missing neuropeptide in unc-43 mutants is secreted via a regulated secretory pathway requiring UNC-31 (CAPS) and . DCV cargo levels in unc-43 mutants are similarly low in cell somas and the axon initial segment, indicating that the secretion occurs prior to axonal transport. Genetic pathway analysis suggests that abnormal neuropeptide function contributes to the sluggish basal locomotion rate of unc-43 mutants. These results reveal a novel pathway controlling the location of DCV exocytosis and describe a major new function for CaM kinase II. BOTH neurons and neuroendocrine cells rely on the controlled release of neuropeptides via dense core vesicle (DCV) exocytosis to evoke or modulate behaviors (Scheller and Axel 1984;Kupfermann 1991;T. Liu et al. 2007;Li and Kim 2008). The DCVs in neuroendocrine and PC12 cells are much more abundant and accessible to biochemical and physiological experiments than those in neurons. For example, in chromaffin and pancreatic b-cells (both neuroendocrine cells), DCVs can number in the tens of thousands per cell and can occupy 31 and 12% of the cell volume, respectively (Dean 1973;Plattner et al. 1997). Exploiting these advantages, studies in PC12 and neuroendocrine cells have revealed that DCVs arise from a regulated secretory pathway. The pathway begins in the trans Golgi, where various sorting mechanisms cause regulated secretory proteins, such as neuropeptides and their processing enzymes, to coalesce into vesicles that bud from the trans Golgi to form immature DCVs. Additional sorting of non-DCV cargos away from DCV cargos occurs as DCVs mature through this pathway (Arvan and Castle 1998;Tooze et al. 2001;Borgonovo et al. 2006).DCVs must selectively retain and protect several distinct cargos that have different physical states as they mature. These include the neuropeptide core, which is thought to be in an aggregated state, the neuropeptide-processing enzymes PC-2 convertase and carboxypeptidase E, possibly soluble cargos, and transmembrane cargos.While neurons and neuroendocrine cells share this core pathway for DCV production, neurons have evolved additional...

BackgroundNeurexin is a synaptic cell adhesion protein critical for synapse formation and function. Mutations in neurexin and neurexin-interacting proteins have been implicated in several neurological diseases. Previous studies have described Drosophila neurexin mutant phenotypes in third instar larvae and adults. However, the expression and function of Drosophila neurexin early in synapse development, when neurexin function is thought to be most important, has not been described.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe use a variety of techniques, including immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, in situ hybridization, and electrophysiology, to characterize neurexin expression and phenotypes in embryonic Drosophila neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Our results surprisingly suggest that neurexin in embryos is present both pre and postsynaptically. Presynaptic neurexin promotes presynaptic active zone formation and neurotransmitter release, but along with postsynaptic neurexin, also suppresses formation of ectopic glutamate receptor clusters. Interestingly, we find that loss of neurexin only affects receptors containing the subunit GluRIIA.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study extends previous results and provides important detail regarding the role of neurexin in Drosophila glutamate receptor abundance. The possibility that neurexin is present postsynaptically raises new hypotheses regarding neurexin function in synapses, and our results provide new insights into the role of neurexin in synapse development.

Evoked synaptic transmission is dependent on interactions between the calcium sensor Synaptotagmin I and the SNARE complex, comprised of Syntaxin, SNAP-25, and Synaptobrevin. Recent evidence suggests that Snapin may be an important intermediate in this process, through simultaneous interactions of Snapin dimers with SNAP-25 and Synaptotagmin. In support of this model, cultured neurons derived from embryonically lethal Snapin null mutant mice exhibit desynchronized release and a reduced readily releasable vesicle pool. Based on evidence that a dimerization-defective Snapin mutation specifically disrupts priming, Snapin is hypothesized to stabilize primed vesicles by structurally coupling Synaptotagmin and SNAP-25. To explore this model in vivo we examined synaptic transmission in viable, adult C. elegans Snapin (snpn-1) mutants. The kinetics of synaptic transmission were unaffected at snpn-1 mutant neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), but the number of docked, fusion competent vesicles was significantly reduced. However, analyses of snt-1 and snt-1;snpn-1 double mutants suggest that the docking role of SNPN-1 is independent of Synaptotagmin. Based on these results we propose that the primary role of Snapin in C. elegans is to promote vesicle priming, consistent with the stabilization of SNARE complex formation through established interactions with SNAP-25 upstream of the actions of Synaptotagmin in calcium-sensing and endocytosis.