Bassoon

A large multi-domain protein of the presynaptic active zone

General Information

Bassoon is a large protein which consists of an N-terminal Zn²⁺ finger and several piccolo-bassoon homology domains (PBH-domains). It is generally found together with piccolo, a related huge multi-domain protein of the CAZ (cytoskeletal matrix assembled at active zones).
Bassoon was suggested to be a scaffolding element of the presynapse but deletion experiments in mice have shown that bassoon is also involved in synaptic vesicle cycling. Probably bassoon interacts with other protein factors via its Zn²⁺ domain but the potential partners have not been determined yet.