Wallace Jaqulin N.

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Last Name
Wallace
First Name
Jaqulin N.
ORCID
0000-0001-5150-9390

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  • Article
    Excess phosphoserine-129 α-Synuclein induces synaptic vesicle trafficking and declustering defects at a Vertebrate Synapse
    (American Society for Cell Biology, 2023-11-22) Wallace, Jaqulin N. ; Crockford, Zachary C. ; Roman-Vendrell, Cristina ; Brady, Emily B. ; Hoffmann, Christian ; Vargas, Karina J. ; Potcoava, Mariana ; Wegman, M. Elizabeth ; Alford, Simon T. ; Milovanovic, Dragomir ; Morgan, Jennifer R.
    α-Synuclein is a presynaptic protein that regulates synaptic vesicle (SV) trafficking. In Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), α-synuclein aberrantly accumulates throughout neurons, including at synapses. During neuronal activity, α-synuclein is reversibly phosphorylated at serine 129 (pS129). While pS129 comprises ∼4% of total α-synuclein under physiological conditions, it dramatically increases in PD and DLB brains. The impacts of excess pS129 on synaptic function are currently unknown. We show here that compared with wild-type (WT) α-synuclein, pS129 exhibits increased binding and oligomerization on synaptic membranes and enhanced vesicle “microclustering” in vitro. Moreover, when acutely injected into lamprey reticulospinal axons, excess pS129 α-synuclein robustly localized to synapses and disrupted SV trafficking in an activity-dependent manner, as assessed by ultrastructural analysis. Specifically, pS129 caused a declustering and dispersion of SVs away from the synaptic vicinity, leading to a significant loss of total synaptic membrane. Live imaging further revealed altered SV cycling, as well as microclusters of recently endocytosed SVs moving away from synapses. Thus, excess pS129 caused an activity-dependent inhibition of SV trafficking via altered vesicle clustering/reclustering. This work suggests that accumulation of pS129 at synapses in diseases like PD and DLB could have profound effects on SV dynamics.
  • Article
    From pipette to palette: Bridging science and art at MBoC
    (American Society for Cell Biology, 2024-05-28) Whittaker, Barry ; Zeigler, Eric ; Garcia-Mata, Rafael ; Wallace, Jaqulin N. ; Morgan, Jennifer R. ; Rodal, Avital A. ; Welch, Matthew D.
    Science and art evoke two different worlds, with science thought of as objective and data driven, and art as subjective and expressive. Yet the practice and process of science and art bear many similarities. Both are centered on observation and description, and both involve experimentation to achieve tangible results. Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBoC) has recently initiated a project to bridge the worlds of science and art to generate a series of cover images for the journal.
  • Article
    Acute introduction of phosphoserine-129 α-synuclein induces severe swelling of mitochondria at lamprey synapses
    (Caltech Library, 2024-05-23) Casiano Rivera, Caroline V. ; Wallace, Jaqulin N. ; Fisher, Gia E. ; Morgan, Jennifer R.
    Abnormal synaptic aggregation of α-synuclein is linked to cognitive deficits in Parkinson’s disease (PD). While the impacts of excess α-synuclein on synaptic function are well established, comparatively less is known about the effects on local mitochondria. Here, we examined morphological features of synaptic mitochondria treated with wild type (WT) or phosphoserine 129 (pS129) α-synuclein, a variant with prominent synaptic accumulation in PD. Acute introduction of pS129 α-synuclein to lamprey synapses caused an activity-dependent swelling and bursting of mitochondria, which did not occur with WT α-synuclein. These pS129-induced effects on mitochondria likely contribute to the synaptic deficits observed in PD.