................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................. iii Table of contents....................................................................................................................... v List of figures............................................................................................................................ x List of tables............................................................................................................................. xi Foreword................................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................... 1 Part 1 Introduction to the synapse ........................................................................2 1.1.1 The structure of the chemical synapse .......................................................................... 4 1.1.2 Ion channels and receptors at the synapse ..................................................................... 8 1.1.3 Additional regulatory protein partners for the ion channels and receptors ................... 13 Part 2 Introduction to the Neto proteins..............................................................16 1.2.1 Neto1 and Neto2 ........................................................................................................ 16 1.2.2 Neto proteins and the glutamate receptors................................................................... 20 1.2.3 Known interacting partners of the Neto proteins......................................................... 24 Part 3 Introduction to Membrane Yeast Two Hybrid (MYTH)...........................27 1.3.1 Split-ubiquitin based MYTH – A novel approach to identify the interactome of the neuronal transmembrane protein Neto2 ...................................................................... 27 1.3.2 Rationale to the use of MYTH strategy....................................................................... 30 1.3.3 Specific objectives and rationale of the thesis ............................................................. 31 1.3.4 Advantages and limitations of MYTH ........................................................................ 33