Clathrin light chain diversity regulates budding efficiency in vitro and synaptic vesicle formation in vivo

Clathrin light chain (CLC) subunits in vertebrates are encoded by paralogous genes CLTA and CLTB and both gene products are alternatively spliced in neurons. To understand how this CLC diversity influences neuronal clathrin function, we characterised the biophysical properties of clathrin comprising individual CLC variants for correlation with neuronal phenotypes of mice lacking either CLC-encoding gene. CLC splice variants differentially influenced clathrin knee conformation within assemblies, and clathrin with neuronal CLC mixtures was more efficient in membrane budding than clathrin with single neuronal isoforms nCLCa or nCLCb. Correspondingly, electrophysiological recordings revealed that neurons from mice lacking nCLCa or nCLCb were both defective in synaptic vesicle replenishment. Mice with only nCLCb had a reduced synaptic vesicle pool and impaired neurotransmission compared to wild-type mice, while nCLCa-only mice had increased synaptic vesicle numbers, restoring normal neurotransmission. These findings highlight functional differences between the CLC isoforms and show that isoform mixing influences tissue-specific clathrin function in neurons.