Identification of two highly homologous presynaptic proteins distinctly localized at the dendritic and somatic synapses.

Through screening of a murine brain cDNA library, we have isolated two brain specific cDNAs encoding highly homologous proteins, named 921-L and 921-S, comprised of 134 amino acids with 80% identity. Immunohistological study with the mAbs raised against the bacterially expressed 921 proteins showed that 921-L protein is distributed at the dendritic region and 921-S at the neuronal somatic surface. Immuno-electron microscopic study revealed that both 921 proteins are localized at the presynaptic terminal, indicating that the 921 proteins are differentially expressed at the dendritic and somatic presynapses.