Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026

Preparation of Synaptic Plasma Membrane and Postsynaptic Density Proteins Using a Discontinuous Sucrose Gradient
Published on: September 3, 2014
Proteolytic processing of the extracellular scaffolding protein LEV-9 is required for clustering acetylcholine
Luis Briseño-Roa1, Jean-Louis Bessereau2
1Institute of Biology of Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75005 Paris,; INSERM, U1024, 75005 Paris,; Institut Jacques Monod UMR CNRS 7592, 75013 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Correct positioning of neurotransmitter-gated receptors at postsynapses is essential for synaptic transmission. At Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junctions, clustering of levamisole-sensitive acetylcholine receptors (L-AChRs) requires the muscle-secreted scaffolding protein LEV-9, a multidomain factor containing complement control protein (CCP) modules. Here we show that LEV-9 needs to be cleaved at its C terminus to exert its function. LEV-9 cleavage is not required for trafficking nor secretion but directly controls scaffolding activity. The cleavage site is evolutionarily conserved, and post-translational cleavage ensures the structural and functional decoupling between different isoforms encoded by the lev-9 gene. Data mining indicates that most human CCP-containing factors are likely cleaved C-terminally from CCP tandems, suggesting that not only domain architectures but also cleavage location can be conserved in distant architecturally related proteins.
Related Concept Videos
Assembly of Signaling Complexes
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER
Cholinergic Neurons: Neurotransmission
Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions
Some...
Vesicular Tubular Clusters
With the help of motor proteins such...
Mechanism of Filopodia Formation
Their main function is to guide migrating cells during normal tissue morphogenesis or cancer metastasis by recognizing and making initial contacts with the extracellular matrix. However, they can also act as stationary cell anchors or help to establish communication...

