Syne-1, a dystrophin- and Klarsicht-related protein associated with synaptic nuclei at the neuromuscular junction

We describe a novel protein, Syne-1, that is associated with nuclear envelopes in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle cells. Syne-1 contains multiple spectrin repeats similar to those found in dystrophin and utrophin, as well as a domain homologous to the carboxyl-terminal of Klarsicht, a protein associated with nuclei and required for a subset of nuclear migrations in Drosophila. In adult skeletal muscle fibers, levels of Syne-1 are highest in the nuclei that lie beneath the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction. These nuclei are transcriptionally specialized, expressing genes for synaptic components at higher levels than extrasynaptic nuclei in the same cytoplasm. Syne-1 is the first protein found to be selectively associated with synaptic nuclei. Syne-1 becomes concentrated in synaptic nuclei postnatally. It remains synaptically enriched following denervation or degeneration/regeneration, and is also present at high levels in the central nuclei of dystrophic myotubes. The location and structure of Syne-1 suggest that it may participate in the migration of myonuclei in myotubes and/or their anchoring at the postsynaptic apparatus. Finally, we identify a homologous gene, syne-2, that is expressed in an overlapping but distinct pattern.