This is an historical archive of the activities of the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit (MRC ANU) that operated at the University of Oxford from 1985 until March 2015. The MRC ANU established a reputation for world-leading research on the brain, for training new generations of scientists, and for engaging the general public in neuroscience. The successes of the MRC ANU are now built upon at the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford.

A dominant mutation in Snap25 causes impaired vesicle trafficking, sensorimotor gating, and ataxia in the blind-drunk mouse.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2007;104(7):2431-6. 10.1073/pnas.0610222104

A dominant mutation in Snap25 causes impaired vesicle trafficking, sensorimotor gating, and ataxia in the blind-drunk mouse.

Jeans AF, Oliver PL, Johnson R, Capogna M, Vikman J, Molnár Z, Babbs A, Partridge CJ, Salehi A, Bengtsson M, Eliasson L, Rorsman P, Davies KE
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Abstract:
The neuronal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex is essential for synaptic vesicle exocytosis, but its study has been limited by the neonatal lethality of murine SNARE knockouts. Here, we describe a viable mouse line carrying a mutation in the b-isoform of neuronal SNARE synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25). The causative I67T missense mutation results in increased binding affinities within the SNARE complex, impaired exocytotic vesicle recycling and granule exocytosis in pancreatic beta-cells, and a reduction in the amplitude of evoked cortical excitatory postsynaptic potentials. The mice also display ataxia and impaired sensorimotor gating, a phenotype which has been associated with psychiatric disorders in humans. These studies therefore provide insights into the role of the SNARE complex in both diabetes and psychiatric disease.