ASSOCIATION OF N-ETHYLMALEIMIDE-SENSITIVE FACTOR WITH SYNAPTIC VESICLES

N-Ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor (NSF) mediates docking and/or fusion of transport vesicles in the multi-pathways of vesicular transport. N SF was highly expressed in brain and adrenal gland. Immunostaining of cerebellum with an anti-NSF monoclonal antibody showed that NSF is pre dominantly localized in the molecular layers and the glomeruli of the granule cell layers. This distribution coincided well with that of syn aptophysin, a marker protein of synaptic vesicles. Purification and im munoprecipitation revealed that NSF is associated with brain synaptic vesicles. The present results suggest that NSF is associated with syna ptic vesicles without Ca2+ influx.