Zu-Hang
Sheng Ph.D., Senior InvestigatorDr. Sheng received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania where he worked with Roland Kallen and Robert Barchi
in cloning skeletal muscle sodium channel genes and studying their regulatory expression. He did his postdoctoral research
in the laboratory of William Catterall at the University of Washington studying structural and functional coupling of presynaptic
calcium channels and the synaptic vesicle docking/fusion machinery. In November 1996, he joined NINDS as an investigator and
in 2007 was promoted to senior investigator. Dr. Sheng's laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying neurotransmitter
release and its modulation.
Laboratory StaffQian Cai, M.D., Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow
301-451-
9669
Yanmin Chen, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow
Claudia Gerwin, B.S. Research Assistant
301-435-
8131
Jian-Sheng Kang, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow
Miriam Leenders, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow
301-435-
9668
Pin-Yue Pan, M.D. Graduate Student
Anthony Simone, B.A. Postbaccalaureate IRTA
Katherine Tsubota, B.S. Postbaccalaureate IRTA
Yi-Bing Zhu, M.D. Graduate Student
Research InterestsThe formation of new synapses or remodeling of existing synapses requires the targeted delivery of synaptic components. Presynaptic
components, including active zone (AZ) precursors, mitochondria, and proteins responsible for the assembly of synaptic vesicle
(SV) fusion machines, are transported to the nerve terminal by kinesin motors moving along microtubules. Upon arrival at
the terminal, cargo-loaded transport vesicles undergo fusion with the plasma membrane to assemble AZs and to recruit SVs.
Docked and primed SVs are then available for exocytosis in response to a rise in intracellular [Ca2+] triggered by the opening
of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Proper synaptic function requires the tight coordination of these processes.
Selected Recent PublicationsJian-Sheng Kang, Jin-Hua Tian*, Ping-Yue Pan*, Philip Zald, Cuiling Li, Chuxia Deng, and Zu-Hang Sheng Docking of Axonal Mitochondria by Syntaphilin Controls their Mobility and Affects Short-term Facilitation (*equal contribution) - Cell
132 137-248 2008
Qain Cai, Ping-Yue Pan, and Zu-Hang ShengSyntabulin-kinesin-1 family 5B-mediated axonal transport contributes to activity-dependent presynaptic assembly - Journal of Neuroscience
27 7284-7296 (With Weekly Editorial News) 2007
Ping-Yue Pan, Qian Cai, Lin Lin, Pei-Hua Lu, Shu-Min Duan, and Zu-Hang Sheng. SNAP29-mediated modulation of synaptic transmission in cultured hippocampal neurons - The Journal of Biological Chemistry
280 25769-25779 2005
Qian Cai, Claudia Gerwin, and Zu-Hang ShengSyntabulin-mediated anterograde transport of mitochondria along the neuronal processes - Journal of Cell Biology
170 959-969 2005
Jin-Hua Tian, Zheng-Xing Wu, Michael Unzicker, Li Lu, Qian Cai, Cuiling Li, Claudia Schirra, Ulf Matti, David Stevens, Chuxia
Deng, Jens Rettig, and Zu-Hang ShengThe Role of Snapin in Neurosecretion: Snapin Knockout Mice Exhibit Impaired Calcium-dependent Exocytosis of Large Dense-core
Vesicles in Chromaffin Cells - Journal of Neuroscience
25 10546-10555 (With Weekly Editorial News) 2005
Qian Cai*, Qingning Su*, Claudia Gerwin, Carolyn L. Smith, Zu-Hang ShengSyntabulin: a microtubule-associated protein implicated in syntaxin trafficking in neurons - Nature Cell Biology
6 941-953 (with news & views)(*equal contributions) 2004
Selected Earlier Publications
Contact InformationSynaptic Function Section, NINDS Porter Neuroscience Research Center
Building 35, Room 3B-203
35 Convent Drive, MSC 3701 Bethesda MD
20892-3701
Telephone:
301-435-
4596 (office), 301-
435-8131 (laboratory),
301-480-
5763 (fax), Email:
zsheng@codon.nih.gov