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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2006.08.030 Byline: Jiong Tang (1), Anton Maximov (1), Ok-Ho Shin (1), Han Dai (2), Josep Rizo (2), Thomas C. Sudhof (1)(3)(4) Abstract: Ca.sup.2+ binding to synaptotagmin 1 triggers fast exocytosis of synaptic vesicles that have been primed for release by SNARE-complex assembly. Besides synaptotagmin 1, fast Ca.sup.2+-triggered exocytosis requires complexins. Synaptotagmin 1 and complexins both bind to assembled SNARE complexes, but it is unclear how their functions are coupled. Here we propose that complexin binding activates SNARE complexes into a metastable state and that Ca.sup.2+ binding to synaptotagmin 1 triggers fast exocytosis by displacing complexin from metastable SNARE complexes. Specifically, we demonstrate that, biochemically, synaptotagmin 1 competes with complexin for SNARE-complex binding, thereby dislodging complexin from SNARE complexes in a Ca.sup.2+-dependent manner. Physiologically, increasing the local concentration of complexin selectively impairs fast Ca.sup.2+-triggered exocytosis but retains other forms of SNARE-dependent fusion. The hypothesis that Ca.sup.2+-induced displacement of complexins from SNARE complexes triggers fast exocytosis accounts for the loss-of-function and gain-of-function phenotypes of complexins and provides a molecular explanation for the high speed and synchronicity of fast Ca.sup.2+-triggered neurotransmitter release. Author Affiliation: (1) The Center for Basic Neuroscience, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA (2) Department of Biochemistry and Department of Pharmacology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA (3) Department of Molecular Genetics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA (4) Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA Article History: Received 9 May 2006; Revised 29 June 2006; Accepted 18 August 2006 Article Note: (miscellaneous) Published: September 21, 2006

Synaptotagmin 1 (Syt 1) functions as an essential [Ca.sup.2+] sensor for the fast but not slow component of [Ca.sup.2+]-triggered exocytosis. One hypothesis to account for this selective function, based on the close homology of Syt 1 with synaptotagmin 9 (Syt 9), is that these Syts are redundant for the slow but not the fast component of release. We now show, however, that Syt 9 has unique properties that set it apart from Syt 1. Different from Syt 1, endogenous Syt 9 does not associate [Ca.sup.2+] dependently or independently with soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNARE) protein complexes, and the Syt 9 [C.sub.2]B domain does not form [Ca.sup.2+]/phospholipid complexes, whereas such complexes are essential for Syt 1 function. Nevertheless, the [C.sub.2]A domain of Syt 9 functions as a [Ca.sup.2+]-binding module, suggesting that Syts 1 and 9 are [Ca.sup.2+] sensors with similar [Ca.sup.2+]-binding sequences but distinct properties that indicate nonoverlapping functions. [C.sub.2] domain | exocytosis | neurotransmitter release | synaptic plasticity | membrane fusion

Synaptotagmin-1, the Ca2+ sensor for fast neurotransmitter release, was proposed to function by Ca2+-dependent phospholipid binding and/or by Ca2+-dependent soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex binding. Extensive in vivo data support the first hypothesis, but testing the second hypothesis has been difficult because no synaptotagmin-1 mutation is known that selectively interferes with SNARE complex binding. Using knock-in mice that carry aspartate-to-asparagine substitutions in a Ca2+-binding site of synaptotagmin-1 (the D232N or D238N substitutions), we now show that the D232N mutation dramatically increases Ca2+-dependent SNARE complex binding by native synaptotagmin-1, but leaves phospholipid binding unchanged. In contrast, the adjacent D238N mutation does not significantly affect SNARE complex binding, but decreases phospholipid binding. Electrophysiological recordings revealed that the D232N mutation increased Ca2+-triggered release, whereas the D238N mutation decreased release. These data establish that fast vesicle exocytosis is driven by a dual Ca2+-dependent activity of synaptotagmin-1, namely Ca2+-dependent binding both to SNARE complexes and to phospholipids.

Deletion of synaptobrevin/vesicle-associated membrane protein, the major synaptic vesicle soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (R-SNARE), severely decreases but does not abolish spontaneous and evoked synaptic vesicle exocytosis. We now show that the closely related R-SNARE protein cellubrevin rescues synaptic transmission in synaptobrevin-deficient neurons but that deletion of both cellubrevin and synaptobrevin does not cause a more severe decrease in exocytosis than deletion of synaptobrevin alone. We then examined the structural requirements for synaptobrevin to function in exocytosis. We found that substituting glutamine for arginine in the zero-layer of the SNARE motif did not significantly impair synaptobrevin-dependent exocytosis, whereas insertion of 12 or 24 residues between the SNARE motif and transmembrane region abolished the ability of synaptobrevin to mediate Ca2+-evoked exocytosis. Surprisingly, however, synaptobrevin with the 12-residue but not the 24-residue insertion restored spontaneous release in synaptobrevin-deficient neurons. Our data suggest that synaptobrevin mediates Ca2+-triggered exocytosis by tight coupling of the SNARE motif to the transmembrane region and hence forcing the membranes into close proximity for fusion. Furthermore, the fusion reactions underlying evoked and spontaneous release differ mechanistically.

Synaptotagmin 1, a Ca2+ sensor for fast synaptic vesicle exocytosis, contains two C2 domains that form Ca2+-dependent complexes with phospholipids. To examine the functional importance of Ca2+ binding to the C2A domain of synaptotagmin 1, we studied two C2A domain mutations, D232N and D238N, using recombinant proteins and knock-in mice. Both mutations severely decreased intrinsic Ca2+ binding and Ca2+-dependent phospholipid binding by the isolated C2A domain. Both mutations, however, did not alter the apparent Ca2+ affinity of the double C2 domain fragment, although both decreased the tightness of the Ca2+/phospholipid/double C2 domain complex. When introduced into the endogenous synaptotagmin 1 gene in mice, the D232N and D238N mutations had no apparent effect on morbidity and mortality and caused no detectable alteration in the Ca2+-dependent properties of synaptotagmin 1. Electrophysiological recordings of cultured hippocampal neurons from knock-in mice revealed that neither mutation induced major changes in synaptic transmission. The D232N mutation, however, caused increased synaptic depression during repetitive stimulation, whereas the D238N mutation did not exhibit this phenotype. Our data indicate that Ca2+ binding to the C2A domain of synaptotagmin 1 may be important but not essential, consistent with the finding that the two C2 domains cooperate and may be partially redundant in Ca2+-dependent phospholipid binding. Moreover, although the apparent Ca2+ affinity of the synaptotagmin 1/phospholipid complex is critical, the tightness of the Ca2+/phospholipid complex is not. Our data also demonstrate that subtle changes in the biochemical properties of synaptotagmin 1 can result in significant alterations in synaptic responses.