The inhibitory synapse. Gephyrin and collybistin are proteins exclusive to the inhibitory postsynapse. While mutations in both genes are already known to cause severe neurological disorders, a recent study by Lionel and collaborators shows that rare microdeletions in GPHN, the gene encoding the human gephyrin protein, are associated with autism and schizophrenia.
Ingo Helbig
Child Neurology Fellow and epilepsy genetics researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), USA and Department of Neuropediatrics, Kiel, Germany