Background information
Synaptotagmins are a large family of synaptic vesicle type III integral membrane proteins that function as regulators of both exocytosis and endocytosis and are involved in neurotransmitter secretion from small secretory vesicles. Synaptotagmin XI, also known as SYT11 (Synaptotagmin-11), is a 431 amino acid protein that localizes to the membrane and is expressed ubiquitously with highest expression in brain and lung. Like other Synaptotagmin proteins, Synaptotagmin XI is involved in the calcium-dependent exocytosis of secretory vesicles and is thought to act as a calcium sensor during vesicular trafficking. Synaptotagmin XI contains two C2 domains through which it can bind either three calcium ions or the zinc-finger protein Parkin (a juvenile Parkinson’s disease gene product), the latter of which causes the polyubiquitination and subsequent degradation of Synaptotagmin XI by the proteasome complex. Defects in the gene encoding Synaptotagmin XI are implicated in a number of neurological disorders, including schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease.
