Dr. Sandhya Koushika
[Recipient of the International Early Career Award by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (USA)]
Associate Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India

Date: Friday, 6-July-2018
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Seminar Room 4, G/F
Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building
21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Summary: 
Synaptic vesicles are essential for neurotransmission. The precursors of synaptic vesicles are formed in the cell body and transported over long distances along the axon to reach the synapse. We find that the early steps that help form a synaptic vesicle depend on the action of JIP3 and LRRK2. They control the exclusion and inclusion of proteins in the final carrier that also makes it competent to recruit the kinesin motor UNC-104/KIF1A. These processes control composition, size and polarized distribution of the synaptic vesicle precursor. Synaptic vesicle precursor transport is physically obstructed at actin-rich regions that contain other cargos or where other cargos are stalled. These traffic jams in healthy neurons affect local cargo flow. These naturally occurring traffic jams with synaptic vesicle precursors appear to be modulated by cellular needs. The combination of the above mechanisms enables robust delivery of synaptic vesicles to their destination.

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