A light-controlled tetanus neurotoxin enables rapid and reversible synaptic inhibition in vivo
We developed an optogenetic tool based on tetanus neurotoxin — a protease that cleaves the synaptic vesicle fusion protein VAMP2 to inhibit neurotransmitter release. We show that this light-controlled protease enables modulation of both cellular activity and mouse behavior in ways that are inaccessible with previous tools, thereby leading to new mechanistic insights.
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We developed an optogenetic tool based on tetanus neurotoxin — a protease that cleaves the synaptic vesicle fusion protein VAMP2 to inhibit neurotransmitter release. We show that this light-controlled protease enables modulation of both cellular activity and mouse behavior in ways that are inaccessible with previous tools, thereby leading to new mechanistic insights.
Wiegert, J. S. et al. Silencing neurons: tools, applications, and experimental constraints. Neuron 95, 504–529 (2017). This review discusses various tools for neuronal silencing.