SV 2

Highly glycosylated synaptic vesicle protein with homology to transmembrane transporters

General Information

SV2s (synaptic vesicle protein 2) are integral membrane glycoproteins present in all synaptic vesicles. They have 12 transmembrane domains predicted by sequence analysis. There are three characterized isoforms, SV2 A, SV2 B and SV2 C. SV2 A is expressed ubiquitously throughout the brain and is probably involved in the maintenance of a pool of synaptic vesicles competent for calcium- stimulated exocytosis. SV2 B has a more restricted distribution with varying degrees of coexpression with SV2 A. SV2 C is more closely related to SV2 A but shows a very restricted expression pattern. The highest expression levels were observed in phylogenetically old brain areas like pallidum, the midbrain and the olfactory bulb. SV2 expression has also been observed in other organs. In kidney it localizes to podocytes.