IDENTIFICATION OF A 34 KDA PROTEIN-SPECIFIC TO SYNAPTIC VESICLES

In this study, we used synaptic vesicles purified from the electric or gan of marine electric rays to search for novel molecules which have i mportant functions in synaptic transmission. Proteins that copurified with synaptic vesicles were used to immunize rats, and the resulting a ntisera were then used to further characterize the vesicle proteins. O ne of the antisera recognizes a protein of 34 kDa, p34, that has sever al characteristics which suggest it is a synaptic vesicle specific pro tein: (1) it copurifies exclusively with the synaptic vesicle peak dur ing permeation chromatography on a controlled pore glass beads column, (2) it can be immunoprecipitated with intact synaptic vesicles and (3 ) it is specifically localized to the nervous system. The results sugg est that p34 is a synaptic vesicle specific protein with a widespread distribution in the nervous system.