—Article Published in Nature Communications

A Yonsei research team led by Professor Ko Jae-won from the College of Life Science and Biotechnology has helped to develop a new model explaining the regulation of synapse development. Joining forces with Professor Kim Ho-min and his team from KAIST, Professor Ko and his collaborators propose a model in which postsynaptic Slit- and Trk-like proteins (Slitrks) mediate synaptogenic functions through direct binding to presynaptic leukocyte common antigen-related receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (LAR-RPTPs) and the subsequent lateral assembly of LAR-RPTPs/Slitrks complexes.   Their article, “Structural basis for LAR-RPTP/Slitrk complex-mediated synaptic adhesion,” was published November 14 in the online version of Nature Communications.

Previously, in March of 2013, Professor Ko and his collaborators published their findings on the interactions of Slitrks and LAR-RPTPs in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. This article, “Slitrks control excitatory and inhibitory synapse formation with LAR receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases,” suggested that combinatorial interactions of Slitrks with LAR-RPTP family members maintain synapse formation to coordinate excitatory–inhibitory balance.

Professor Ko credits the success of this cutting-edge work on synaptogenesis to Yonsei’s strong support for interdisciplinary convergence research. Professor Ko and his team received funding from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.