A TRANSMEMBRANE PROTEIN FOR RECEPTOR
CLUSTERING
An efficient neurotransmission requires the clustering of neurotransmitter receptors by post-synaptic neuron. Gally et al. (A transmembrane protein required for acetylcholine receptor clustering in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature 431, 578-582, 2004) in a cooperative work between INSERM (Paris, France) and University of Illinois at Chicago (USA) identify a Caenorhabditis elegans locus, lev-10 required for postsynaptic aggregation of ionotropic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs).
The polypeptide LEV-10 is a transmembrane protein localized to cholinergic NMJs and required in body-wall muscles for AChRs clustering.