Bamji, S. X.Shimazu, K.Kimes, N.Huelsken, J.Birchmeier, W.Lu, B.Reichardt, L. F.2008-02-182008-02-182008-02-18200310.1016/S0896-6273(03)00718-9https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/18788Cadherins and catenins are thought to promote adhesion between pre and postsynaptic elements in the brain. Here we show a role for beta-catenin in localizing the reserved pool of vesicles at presynaptic sites. Deletion of beta-catenin in hippocampal pyramidal neurons in vivo resulted in a reduction in the number of reserved pool vesicles per synapse and an impaired response to prolonged repetitive stimulation. This corresponded to a dispersion of vesicles along the axon in cultured neurons. Interestingly, these effects are not due to beta-catenin's involvement in cadherin-mediated adhesion or wnt signaling. Instead, beta-catenin modulates vesicle localization via its PDZ binding domain to recruit PDZ proteins such as Veli to cadherin at synapses. This study defines a specific role for cadherins and catenins in synapse organization beyond their roles in mediating cell adhesion.text::journal::journal article::research article