Master Key for Memory: Rutgers Study Finds cypin Protein Shapes Synapse Stability, Opening New Paths for Treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Brain Injury
A team led by a Rutgers University neuroscientist has identified a surprising molecular regulator that helps keep the brain’s connections strong: a cytosolic protein called cypin. New experiments in cultured neurons and in adult mice show that cypin promotes a specific form of polyubiquitination (K63-linked ubiquitin chains) on synaptic proteins, alters proteasome composition at synapses, and increases levels of key synaptic scaffolding and glutamate receptor proteins tied to learning and memory. The findings, published in Science Advances, point to cypin as a “master key” that can tune both pre‑ and postsynaptic content and suggest it could be a target for new therapies aimed at neurodegenerative disease and recovery after traumatic brain injury (Science Advances study; Rutgers news release; SciTechDaily summary).