Over the past 20 years, protein engineering has been extensively used to improve and
modify the fundamental properties of fluorescent proteins (FPs) with the goal of adapting …

As polarized cells, neurons maintain different sets of resident plasma membrane proteins in
their axons and dendrites, which is consistent with the different roles that these neurites …

One of the major challenges in modern biology is to understand how the molecular
components of a living cell operate in a highly noisy environment. What are the specific …

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a research model organism particularly suited to
the mechanistic understanding of synapse genesis in the nervous system. Armed with …

Neurons are akin to modern cities in that both are dependent on robust transport
mechanisms. Like the best mass transit systems, trafficking in neurons must be tailored to …

l-Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, with postsynaptic responses
to its release predominantly mediated by AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). A …

Sodium channel NaV1. 7 controls firing of nociceptors, and its role in human pain has been
validated by genetic and functional studies. However, little is known about NaV1. 7 …

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) have been an interesting drug target for many diseases.
Although a vast number of mainly preclinical studies demonstrates beneficial effects of PDE …

The Kinesin superfamily proteins (KIFs) are major molecular motors that transport diverse
set of cargoes along microtubules to both the axon and dendrite of a neuron. Much of our …

The death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1) is a potent mediator of neuronal cell death.
Here, we find that DAPK1 also functions in synaptic plasticity by regulating the Ca …