Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025

In Vitro SUMOylation Assay to Study SUMO E3 Ligase Activity
Published on: January 29, 2018
Molecular Organization and Regulation of the Mammalian Synapse by the Post-Translational Modification SUMOylation
Isabel Chato-Astrain1, Marie Pronot2, Thierry Coppola1
1Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, IPMC, Sophia Antipolis, F-06560 Valbonne, France.
Abstract:
Neurotransmission occurs within highly specialized compartments forming the active synapse where the complex organization and dynamics of the interactions are tightly orchestrated both in time and space. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are central to these spatiotemporal regulations to ensure an efficient synaptic transmission. SUMOylation is a dynamic PTM that modulates the interactions between proteins and consequently regulates the conformation, the distribution and the trafficking of the SUMO-target proteins. SUMOylation plays a crucial role in synapse formation and stabilization, as well as in the regulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity. In this review, we summarize the molecular consequences of this protein modification in the structural organization and function of the mammalian synapse. We also outline novel activity-dependent regulation and consequences of the SUMO process and explore how this protein modification can functionally participate in the compartmentalization of both pre- and post-synaptic sites.
Related Concept Videos
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
Covalently Linked Protein Regulators
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein....
Chemical Synapses
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps
Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures
Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting

