Lipid Rafts Identified on Synaptic Vesicles from Rat Brain

For a long time, lipid rafts have been thought to participate in regulating neurotransmitter release. However, the existence of lipid rafts on synaptic vesicles (SVs) and the mechanism by which exocytosis-relative proteins distribute on this structure have not been fully investigated. There is also much controversial data concerning rafts on SVs and synaptic vesicle proteins which makes the results difficult to interpret. This study systematically analyzed the existence and properties of lipid rafts on purified SVs by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, cholesterol depletion, and temperature variation. The data reveals that typical lipid rafts on SVs are both cholesterol dependent and temperature sensitive. Previous confusing results may have been caused by improper treatment or side effects of particular reagent. We also screened the lateral distribution of major exocytosis-related SV proteins and found that only the synaptobrevin (syb) and synaptotagmin (syt) produce detectable association with lipid rafts in 1% Triton X-100.