Liang-Wei Gong, PhD
Professor
Biological Sciences
Contact
Building & Room:
4296 SELE
Address:
950 S Halsted St.
Office Phone:
Email:
About
Synaptic transmission is mediated by fusion of synaptic vesicles with presynaptic plasma membrane to release neurotransmitter inside the vesicles. Exocytosis of synaptic vesicles is followed by endocytosis to form vesicles and local recycling of the synaptic vesicles. The mechanisms for exocytosis and endocytosis represent one of the most exciting topics in neurobiology and cell biology. Vesicle fusion is thought to be mediated by SNARE proteins, and actin, clathrin and dynamin are believed to be essential for clathrin-mediated endocytosis.
Exocytic fusion and endocytic fission can be resolved by high-resolution measurement of membrane capacitance of patch clamping techniques, since changes in membrane area by exocytosis and endocytosis lead to proportional changes in membrane capacitance.
In my lab, we combine genetic and cell biological approaches with biophysical methods to investigate the mechanisms of exocytosis and endocytosis.
Our recent study indicates that the endocytic kinetics of clathrin-mediated endocytosis is also Ca 2+ dependent and synaptotagmin 1, the putative Ca 2+ sensor for exocytosis, is necessary for the Ca 2+ dependence of clathrin-mediated endocytosis, indicating a similarity in the Ca 2+ dependence between exocytosis and endocytosis.
Selected Publications
(Complete list of publications on Google Scholar)
- Yao LH, Rao Y, Varga K, Wang CY, Xiao P, Lindau M and Gong LW. Synaptotagmin 1 is necessary for the Ca2+ dependence of clathrin-mediated endocytosis. J Neurosci 2012; 32: 3778-3785.
- Gong LW and De Camilli P. Regulation of postsynaptic AMPA responses by synaptojanin 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2008; 105: 17561-17566.
- Fang Q, Berberian K, Gong LW, Hafez I, Sørensen JB and Lindau M. The role of the C terminus of the SNARE protein SNAP-25 in fusion pore opening and a model for fusion pore mechanics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2008; 105: 15388-15392.
- Gong LW, Alvarez de Toledo G, Lindau M. Exocytotic catecholamine releaae is not associated with cation flux through channels in the vesicle membrane but Na+ influx through the fusion pore. Nature Cell Biology 2007; 9:915-922.
- Ferguson SM, Brasnjo G, Hayashi M, Wolfel M, Collesi C, Giovedi S, Raimondi A, Gong LW, Paradise S, O’Toole E, Flavell R, Cremona O, Misesenbock G, Ryan TA, De Camilli P. Synaptic vesicle recycling requires dynamin 1 during intense synaptic activity. Science 2007; 316:570-574.
- Dernick G, Gong LW, Tabares L, Alvarez de Toledo G, Lindau M. Patch amperometry: high-resolution measurements of single-vesicle fusion and release. Nature methods 2005; 2:699-708.
- Gong LW, Di Paolo G, Diaz E, Cestra G, Diaz ME, Lindau M, De Camilli P, Toomre D. Phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinase type I gamma regulates dynamics of large dense-core vesicle fusion. Proceedings of National Academy Science USA 2005; 102:5204-9.
- Gong LW, Hafez I, Alvarez de Toledo G, and Lindau M. Secretory vesicles membrane area is regulated in tandem with quantal size in chromaffin cells. Journal of Neuroscience 2003; 23: 7917-7921.
- Mosharov E, Gong LW, Khanna B, Sulzer D, Lindau M. Intracellular patch electrochemistry, a technique to measure intracellular metabolites in single cells: regulation of cytosolic catecholamine in chromaffin cells. Journal of Neuroscience 2003; 23: 5834-5845.
Education
PhD, Southern Medical University, China
MS, The 4thMilitary Medical University, China
BS, Jiangxi University, China