BIN1 modulation in vivo rescues dynamin-related myopathy.

The mechanoenzyme dynamin 2 (DNM2) is crucial for intracellular organization and trafficking. DNM2 is mutated in dominant centronuclear myopathy (DNM2-CNM), a muscle disease characterized by defects in organelle positioning in myofibers. It remains unclear how the in vivo functions of DNM2 are regulated in muscle. Moreover, there is no therapy for DNM2-CNM to date. Here, we overexpressed human amphiphysin 2 (BIN1), a membrane remodeling protein mutated in other CNM forms, in Dnm2RW/+ and Dnm2RW/RW mice modeling mild and severe DNM2-CNM, through transgenesis or with adeno-associated virus (AAV). Increasing BIN1 improved muscle atrophy and main histopathological features of Dnm2RW/+ mice and rescued the perinatal lethality and survival of Dnm2RW/RW mice. In vitro experiments showed that BIN1 binds and recruits DNM2 to membrane tubules, and that the BIN1-DNM2 complex regulates tubules fission. Overall, BIN1 is a potential therapeutic target for dominant centronuclear myopathy linked to DNM2 mutations.

Physiological impact and disease reversion for the severe form of centronuclear myopathy linked to dynamin.

Classical dynamins are large GTPases regulating membrane and cytoskeleton dynamics, and they are linked to different pathological conditions ranging from neuromuscular diseases to encephalopathy and cancer. Dominant dynamin 2 (DNM2) mutations lead to either mild adult onset or severe autosomal dominant centronuclear myopathy (ADCNM). Our objectives were to better understand the pathomechanism of severe ADCNM and test a potential therapy. Here, we created the Dnm2SL/+ mouse line harboring the common S619L mutation found in patients with severe ADCNM and impairing the conformational switch regulating dynamin self-assembly and membrane remodeling. The Dnm2SL/+ mouse faithfully reproduces severe ADCNM hallmarks with early impaired muscle function and force, together with myofiber hypotrophy. It revealed swollen mitochondria lacking cristae as the main ultrastructural defect and potential cause of the disease. Patient analysis confirmed this structural hallmark. In addition, DNM2 reduction with antisense oligonucleotides after disease onset efficiently reverted locomotor and force defects after only 3 weeks of treatment. Most histological defects including mitochondria alteration were partially or fully rescued. Overall, this study highlights an efficient approach to revert the severe form of dynamin-related centronuclear myopathy. These data also reveal that the dynamin conformational switch is key for muscle function and should be targeted for future therapeutic developments.

Dynamin 2-dependent endocytosis is essential for mouse oocyte development and fertility.

During folliculogenesis, oocytes are dependent on metabolic and molecular support from surrounding somatic cells. Here, we examined the role of the dynamin (DNM) family of mechanoenzymes in mediating endocytotic uptake into growing follicular oocytes. We found DNM1 and DNM2 to be highly expressed in growing follicular oocytes as well as in mature germinal vesicle (GV) and metaphase II (MII) stage oocytes. Moreover, oocyte-specific conditional knockout (cKO) of DNM2 (DNM2Δ) led to complete sterility, with follicles arresting at the preantral stage of development. In addition, DNM2Δ ovaries were characterized by disrupted follicular growth as well as oocyte and follicle apoptosis. Further, the loss of DNM activity, either through DNM2 cKO or through pharmacological inhibition (Dyngo 6a) led to the impairment of endocytotic pathways in preantral oocytes as well as in mature GV and MII oocytes, respectively. Loss of DNM activity resulted in the redistribution of endosomes and the misslocalization of clathrin and actin, suggesting dysfunctional endocytosis. Notably, there was no observable effect on the fertility of DNM1Δ females. Our study has provided new insight into the complex and dynamic nature of oocyte growth during folliculogenesis, suggesting a role for DNM2 in mediating the endocytotic events that are essential for oocyte development.

Maturation of Lipophagic Organelles in Hepatocytes Is Dependent Upon a Rab10/Dynamin-2 Complex.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Hepatocytes play a central role in storage and utilization of fat by the liver. Selective breakdown of lipid droplets (LDs) by autophagy (also called lipophagy) is a key process utilized to catabolize these lipids as an energy source. How the autophagic machinery is selectively targeted to LDs, where it mediates membrane engulfment and subsequent degradation, is unclear. Recently, we have reported that two distinct GTPases, the mechanoenzyme, dynamin2 (Dyn2), and the small regulatory Rab GTPase, Rab10, work independently at distinct steps of lipophagy in hepatocytes. APPROACH AND RESULTS: In an attempt to understand how these proteins are regulated and recruited to autophagic organelles, we performed a nonbiased biochemical screen for Dyn2-binding partners and found that Dyn2 actually binds Rab10 directly through a defined effector domain of Rab10 and the middle domain of Dyn2. These two GTPases can be observed to interact transiently on membrane tubules in hepatoma cells and along LD-centric autophagic membranes. Most important, we found that a targeted disruption of this interaction leads to an inability of cells to trim tubulated cytoplasmic membranes, some of which extend from lipophagic organelles, resulting in LD accumulation. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies a functional, and direct, interaction between Dyn2 and a regulatory Rab GTPase that may play an important role in hepatocellular metabolism.

Inhibition of Endocytosis of Clathrin-Mediated Angiotensin II Receptor Type 1 in Podocytes Augments Glomerular Injury.

BACKGROUND: Inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system remains a cornerstone in reducing proteinuria and progression of kidney failure, effects believed to be the result of reduction in BP and glomerular hyperfiltration. However, studies have yielded conflicting results on whether podocyte-specific angiotensin II (AngII) signaling directly induces podocyte injury. Previous research has found that after AngII stimulation, ß-arrestin-bound angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R) is internalized in a clathrin- and dynamin-dependent manner, and that Dynamin1 and Dynamin2 double-knockout mice exhibit impaired clathrin-mediated endocytosis. METHODS: We used podocyte-specific Dyn double-knockout mice to examine AngII-stimulated AT1R internalization and signaling in primary podocytes and controls. We also examined the in vivo effect of AngII in these double-knockout mice through renin-angiotensin system blockers and through deletion of Agtr1a (which encodes the predominant AT1R isoform expressed in kidney, AT1aR). We tested calcium influx, Rac1 activation, and lamellipodial extension in control and primary podocytes of Dnm double-knockout mice treated with AngII. RESULTS: We confirmed augmented AngII-stimulated AT1R signaling in primary Dnm double-knockout podocytes resulting from arrest of clathrin-coated pit turnover. Genetic ablation of podocyte Agtr1a in Dnm double-knockout mice demonstrated improved albuminuria and kidney function compared with the double-knockout mice. Isolation of podocytes from Dnm double-knockout mice revealed abnormal membrane dynamics, with increased Rac1 activation and lamellipodial extension, which was attenuated in Dnm double-knockout podocytes lacking AT1aR. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that inhibiting aberrant podocyte-associated AT1aR signaling pathways has a protective effect in maintaining the integrity of the glomerular filtration barrier.

Impact of dynamin 2 on adenovirus nuclear entry.

The large GTPase dynamin 2 controls both endosomal fission and microtubule acetylation. Here we report that dynamin 2 alters microtubules and regulates the trafficking of human adenovirus type 37. Dynamin 2 knockdown by siRNA in infected cells resulted in accumulation of acetylated tubulin, repositioning of microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) closer to cell nuclei, increased virus in the cytosol (with a compensatory decrease in endosomal virus), reduced proinflammatory cytokine induction, and increased binding of virus to the nucleoporin, Nup358. These events led to increased viral DNA nuclear entry and viral replication. Overexpression of dynamin 2 generated opposite effects. Therefore, dynamin 2 inhibits adenovirus replication and promotes innate immune responses by the infected cell. MTOC transposition in dynamin 2 knockdown promotes a closer association with nuclear pore complexes to facilitate viral DNA delivery. Dynamin 2 plays a key role in adenoviral trafficking and influences host responses to infection.

Porcine sapovirus Cowden strain enters LLC-PK cells via clathrin- and cholesterol-dependent endocytosis with the requirement of dynamin II.

Caliciviruses in the genus Sapovirus are a significant cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans and animals. However, the mechanism of their entry into cells is not well characterized. Here, we determined the entry mechanism of porcine sapovirus (PSaV) strain Cowden into permissive LLC-PK cells. The inhibition of clathrin-mediated endocytosis using chlorpromazine, siRNAs, and a dominant negative (DN) mutant blocked entry and infection of PSaV Cowden strain, confirming a role for clathrin-mediated internalization. Entry and infection were also inhibited by the cholesterol-sequestering drug methyl-ß-cyclodextrin and was restored by the addition of soluble cholesterol, indicating that cholesterol also contributes to entry and infection of this strain. Furthermore, the inhibition of dynamin GTPase activity by dynasore, siRNA depletion of dynamin II, or overexpression of a DN mutant of dynamin II reduced the entry and infection, suggesting that dynamin mediates the fission and detachment of clathrin- and cholesterol-pits for entry of this strain. In contrast, the inhibition of caveolae-mediated endocytosis using nystatin, siRNAs, or a DN mutant had no inhibitory effect on entry and infection of this strain. It was further determined that cell entry of PSaV Cowden strain required actin rearrangements for vesicle internalization, endosomal trafficking from early to late endosomes through microtubules, and late endosomal acidification for uncoating. We conclude that PSaV strain Cowden is internalized into LLC-PK cells by clathrin- and cholesterol-mediated endocytosis that requires dynamin II and actin rearrangement, and that the uncoating occurs in the acidified late endosomes after trafficking from the early endosomes through microtubules.

Loss of Dynamin 2 GTPase function results in microcytic anaemia.

In a dominant mouse ethylnitrosurea mutagenesis screen for genes regulating erythropoiesis, we identified a pedigree with a novel microcytic hypochromia caused by a V235G missense mutation in Dynamin 2 (Dnm2). Mutations in Dnm2, a GTPase, are highly disease-specific and have been implicated in four forms of human diseases: centronuclear myopathy, Charcot-Marie Tooth neuropathy and, more recently, T-cell leukaemia and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, but red cell abnormalities have not been reported to date. The V235G mutation lies within a crucial GTP nucleotide-binding pocket of Dnm2, and resulted in defective GTPase activity and incompatibility with life in the homozygous state. Dnm2 is an essential mediator of clathrin-mediated endocytosis, which is required for the uptake of transferrin (Tf) into red cells for incorporation of haem. Accordingly, we observed significantly reduced Tf uptake by Dnm2+/V235G cells, which led to impaired endosome formation. Despite these deficiencies, surprisingly all iron studies were unchanged, suggesting an unexplained alternative mechanism underlies microcytic anaemia in Dnm2+/V235G mice. This study provides the first in vivo evidence for the requirements of Dnm2 in normal erythropoiesis.

Dynamin Regulates Autophagy by Modulating Lysosomal Function.

Autophagy is a central lysosomal degradation pathway required for maintaining cellular homeostasis and its dysfunction is associated with numerous human diseases. To identify players in autophagy, we tested ∼1200 chemically induced mutations on the X chromosome in Drosophila fat body clones and discovered that shibire (shi) plays an essential role in starvation-induced autophagy. shi encodes a dynamin protein required for fission of clathrin-coated vesicles from the plasma membrane during endocytosis. We showed that Shi is dispensable for autophagy initiation and autophagosome-lysosome fusion, but required for lysosomal/autolysosomal acidification. We also showed that other endocytic core machinery components like clathrin and AP2 play similar but not identical roles in regulating autophagy and lysosomal function as dynamin. Previous studies suggested that dynamin directly regulates autophagosome formation and autophagic lysosome reformation (ALR) through its excision activity. Here, we provide evidence that dynamin also regulates autophagy indirectly by regulating lysosomal function.

Activation of the Small G Protein Arf6 by Dynamin2 through Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors in Endocytosis.

The small G protein Arf6 and the GTPase dynamin2 (Dyn2) play key roles in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). However, their functional relationship remains obscure. Here, we show that Arf6 functions as a downstream molecule of Dyn2 in CME. Wild type of Dyn2 overexpressed in HeLa cells markedly activates Arf6, while a GTPase-lacking Dyn2 mutant does not. Of the Arf6-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factors, EFA6A, EFA6B, and EFA6D specifically interact with Dyn2. Furthermore, overexpression of dominant negative mutants or knockdown of EFA6B and EFA6D significantly inhibit Dyn2-induced Arf6 activation. Finally, overexpression of the binding region peptide of EFA6B for Dyn2 or knockdown of EFA6B and EFA6D significantly suppresses clathrin-mediated transferrin uptake. These results provide evidence for a novel Arf6 activation mechanism by Dyn2 through EFA6B and EFA6D in CME in a manner dependent upon the GTPase activity of Dyn2.

Dynamin 2 regulates biphasic insulin secretion and plasma glucose homeostasis.

Alterations in insulin granule exocytosis and endocytosis are paramount to pancreatic ß cell dysfunction in diabetes mellitus. Here, using temporally controlled gene ablation specifically in ß cells in mice, we identified an essential role of dynamin 2 GTPase in preserving normal biphasic insulin secretion and blood glucose homeostasis. Dynamin 2 deletion in ß cells caused glucose intolerance and substantial reduction of the second phase of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS); however, mutant ß cells still maintained abundant insulin granules, with no signs of cell surface expansion. Compared with control ß cells, real-time capacitance measurements demonstrated that exocytosis-endocytosis coupling was less efficient but not abolished; clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) was severely impaired at the step of membrane fission, which resulted in accumulation of clathrin-coated endocytic intermediates on the plasma membrane. Moreover, dynamin 2 ablation in ß cells led to striking reorganization and enhancement of actin filaments, and insulin granule recruitment and mobilization were impaired at the later stage of GSIS. Together, our results demonstrate that dynamin 2 regulates insulin secretory capacity and dynamics in vivo through a mechanism depending on CME and F-actin remodeling. Moreover, this study indicates a potential pathophysiological link between endocytosis and diabetes mellitus.

Dynamin 2-dependent endocytosis sustains T-cell receptor signaling and drives metabolic reprogramming in T lymphocytes.

Prolonged T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling is required for the proliferation of T lymphocytes. Ligation of the TCR activates signaling, but also causes internalization of the TCR from the cell surface. How TCR signaling is sustained for many hours despite lower surface expression is unknown. Using genetic inhibition of endocytosis, we show here that TCR internalization promotes continued TCR signaling and T-lymphocyte proliferation. T-cell-specific deletion of dynamin 2, an essential component of endocytosis, resulted in reduced TCR signaling strength, impaired homeostatic proliferation, and the inability to undergo clonal expansion in vivo. Blocking endocytosis resulted in a failure to maintain mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity and to stably induce the transcription factor myelocytomatosis oncogene (c-Myc), which led to metabolic stress and a defect in cell growth. Our results support the concept that the TCR can continue to signal after it is internalized from the cell surface, thereby enabling sustained signaling and cell proliferation.

Role of dynamin and clathrin in the cellular trafficking of flotillins.

Flotillin-1 and flotillin-2 are highly conserved, membrane-microdomain-associated proteins that have been shown to be involved in signal transduction, membrane trafficking and cell adhesion. Upon growth factor stimulation, flotillins are tyrosine phosphorylated and become endocytosed from the plasma membrane into endosomes from which they are recycled back to the plasma membrane. Although a role for flotillin-1 in the endocytosis of certain cargo proteins has been suggested, it is not known how the growth-factor-induced endocytosis of flotillins is regulated and which endocytosis pathway is used. However, this is likely to be different from the pathway used by flotillin-dependent cargo. In this study, we have addressed the mechanistic details of flotillin trafficking during growth factor signaling. We show that dynamin-2 activity is required for the uptake of flotillins from the plasma membrane upon epidermal growth factor stimulation, and inhibition of dynamin-2 GTPase activity impairs flotillin endocytosis. Surprisingly, recycling of flotillins from endosomes to the plasma membrane appears to require both dynamin-2 and clathrin. Upon overexpression of dynamin-2 mutants or depletion of clathrin heavy chain, flotillins are permanently trapped in endosomes. These data show that clathrin and dynamin are required for the endosomal sorting of flotillins, and the study provides a mechanistic dissection of the thus far poorly characterized endosomal trafficking of flotillins.

Dynamin 2 along with microRNA-199a reciprocally regulate hypoxia-inducible factors and ovarian cancer metastasis.

Hypoxia-driven changes in the tumor microenvironment facilitate cancer metastasis. In the present study, we investigated the regulatory cross talk between endocytic pathway, hypoxia, and tumor metastasis. Dynamin 2 (DNM2), a GTPase, is a critical mediator of endocytosis. Hypoxia decreased the levels of DNM2. DNM2 promoter has multiple hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-binding sites and genetic deletion of them relieved hypoxia-induced transcriptional suppression. Interestingly, DNM2 reciprocally regulated HIF. Inhibition of DNM2 GTPase activity and dominant-negative mutant of DNM2 showed a functional role for DNM2 in regulating HIF. Furthermore, the opposite strand of DNM2 gene encodes miR-199a, which is similarly reduced in cancer cells under hypoxia. miR-199a targets the 3'-UTR of HIF-1α and HIF-2α. Decreased miR-199a expression in hypoxia increased HIF levels. Exogenous expression of miR-199a decreased HIF, cell migration, and metastasis of ovarian cancer cells. miR-199a-mediated changes in HIF levels affected expression of the matrix-remodeling enzyme, lysyloxidase (LOX). LOX levels negatively correlated with progression-free survival in ovarian cancer patients. These results demonstrate a regulatory relationship between DNM2, miR-199a, and HIF, with implications in cancer metastasis.

Dynamin 2 regulates actin-mediated spindle migration in mouse oocytes.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: During meiosis, a bipolar spindle forms in the central cytoplasm of an oocyte and then moves to the cortex to extrude the first polar body. This is dependent on the regulation of actin and actin-related molecules. Dynamin 2, a large guanosine triphosphatases (GTPase) known to regulate clathrin-mediated endocytosis, is involved in actin recruitment and actin-based vesicle mobility. In this study, we investigated the role of Dynamin 2 in oocyte meiosis. RESULTS: Dynamin 2 was localised at the cortex and around the spindles of oocytes. Disrupting Dynamin 2 activity by RNAi or an inhibitor resulted in polar body extrusion failure. Using time-lapse microscopy to monitor aberrant oocyte cytokinesis, the chromosomes were first separated, but then re-joined. Actin expression in oocytes was decreased; and actin cap formation was disrupted, which was confirmed by the disappearance of cortical-granule-free domains. In addition, live cell imaging showed that spindle migration had failed and that spindles were arrested centrally in oocytes. This may have been due to the Dynamin-binding protein Profilin and actin-related protein 2/3 (ARP2/3) complexes, which exhibited dispersed signals after disrupting Dynamin 2 activity. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, our results indicate that Dynamin 2 regulates spindle migration and polar body extrusion during mouse oocyte meiosis through an actin-based pathway.

Dynamin 2 regulation of integrin endocytosis, but not VEGF signaling, is crucial for developmental angiogenesis.

Here we show that dynamin 2 (Dnm2) is essential for angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. In cultured endothelial cells lacking Dnm2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling and receptor levels are augmented whereas cell migration and morphogenesis are impaired. Mechanistically, the loss of Dnm2 increases focal adhesion size and the surface levels of multiple integrins and reduces the activation state of ß1 integrin. In vivo, the constitutive or inducible loss of Dnm2 in endothelium impairs branching morphogenesis and promotes the accumulation of ß1 integrin at sites of failed angiogenic sprouting. Collectively, our data show that Dnm2 uncouples VEGF signaling from function and coordinates the endocytic turnover of integrins in a manner that is crucially important for angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

Dynamin-2 regulates fusion pore expansion and quantal release through a mechanism that involves actin dynamics in neuroendocrine chromaffin cells.

Over the past years, dynamin has been implicated in tuning the amount and nature of transmitter released during exocytosis. However, the mechanism involved remains poorly understood. Here, using bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, we investigated whether this mechanism rely on dynamin's ability to remodel actin cytoskeleton. According to this idea, inhibition of dynamin GTPase activity suppressed the calcium-dependent de novo cortical actin and altered the cortical actin network. Similarly, expression of a small interfering RNA directed against dynamin-2, an isoform highly expressed in chromaffin cells, changed the cortical actin network pattern. Disruption of dynamin-2 function, as well as the pharmacological inhibition of actin polymerization with cytochalasine-D, slowed down fusion pore expansion and increased the quantal size of individual exocytotic events. The effects of cytochalasine-D and dynamin-2 disruption were not additive indicating that dynamin-2 and F-actin regulate the late steps of exocytosis by a common mechanism. Together our data support a model in which dynamin-2 directs actin polymerization at the exocytosis site where both, in concert, adjust the hormone quantal release to efficiently respond to physiological demands.

Muscle-specific function of the centronuclear myopathy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy-associated dynamin 2 is required for proper lipid metabolism, mitochondria, muscle fibers, neuromuscular junctions and peripheral nerves.

The ubiquitously expressed large GTPase Dynamin 2 (DNM2) plays a critical role in the regulation of intracellular membrane trafficking through its crucial function in membrane fission, particularly in endocytosis. Autosomal-dominant mutations in DNM2 cause tissue-specific human disorders. Different sets of DNM2 mutations are linked to dominant intermediate Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy type B, a motor and sensory neuropathy affecting primarily peripheral nerves, or autosomal-dominant centronuclear myopathy (CNM) presenting with primary damage in skeletal muscles. To understand the underlying disease mechanisms, it is imperative to determine to which degree the primary affected cell types require DNM2. Thus, we used cell type-specific gene ablation to examine the consequences of DNM2 loss in skeletal muscle cells, the major relevant cell type involved in CNM. We found that DNM2 function in skeletal muscle is required for proper mouse development. Skeletal muscle-specific loss of DNM2 causes a reduction in muscle mass and in the numbers of muscle fibers, altered muscle fiber size distributions, irregular neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and isolated degenerating intramuscular peripheral nerve fibers. Intriguingly, a lack of muscle-expressed DNM2 triggers an increase of lipid droplets (LDs) and mitochondrial defects. We conclude that loss of DNM2 function in skeletal muscles initiates a chain of harmful parallel and serial events, involving dysregulation of LDs and mitochondrial defects within altered muscle fibers, defective NMJs and peripheral nerve degeneration. These findings provide the essential basis for further studies on DNM2 function and malfunction in skeletal muscles in health and disease, potentially including metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

Advances in analysis of low signal-to-noise images link dynamin and AP2 to the functions of an endocytic checkpoint.

Numerous endocytic accessory proteins (EAPs) mediate assembly and maturation of clathrin-coated pits (CCPs) into cargo-containing vesicles. Analysis of EAP function through bulk measurement of cargo uptake has been hampered due to potential redundancy among EAPs and, as we show here, the plasticity and resilience of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Instead, EAP function is best studied by uncovering the correlation between variations in EAP association to individual CCPs and the resulting variations in maturation. However, most EAPs bind to CCPs in low numbers, making the measurement of EAP association via fused fluorescent reporters highly susceptible to detection errors. Here, we present a framework for unbiased measurement of EAP recruitment to CCPs and their direct effects on CCP dynamics. We identify dynamin and the EAP-binding α-adaptin appendage domain of the AP2 adaptor as switches in a regulated, multistep maturation process and provide direct evidence for a molecular checkpoint in CME.

Protein partners of dynamin-1 in the retina.

Dynamin proteins are involved in vesicle generation, providing mechanical force to excise newly formed vesicles from membranes of cellular compartments. In the brain, dynamin-1, dynamin-2, and dynamin-3 have been well studied; however, their function in the retina remains elusive. A retina-specific splice variant of dynamin-1 interacts with the photoreceptor-specific protein Tubby-like protein 1 (Tulp1), which when mutated causes an early onset form of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa. Here, we investigated the role of the dynamins in the retina, using immunohistochemistry to localize dynamin-1, dynamin-2, and dynamin-3 and immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry to explore dynamin-1 interacting proteins in mouse retina. Dynamin-2 is primarily confined to the inner segment compartment of photoreceptors, suggesting a role in outer segment protein transport. Dynamin-3 is present in the terminals of photoreceptors and dendrites of second-order neurons but is most pronounced in the inner plexiform layer where second-order neurons relay signals from photoreceptors. Dynamin-1 appears to be the dominant isoform in the retina and is present throughout the retina and in multiple compartments of the photoreceptor cell. This suggests that it may function in multiple cellular pathways. Surprisingly, dynamin-1 expression and localization did not appear to be disrupted in tulp1−/− mice. Immunoprecipitation experiments reveal that dynamin-1 associates primarily with proteins involved in cytoskeletal-based membrane dynamics. This finding is confirmed by western blot analysis. Results further implicate dynamin-1 in vesicular protein transport processes relevant to synaptic and post-Golgi pathways and indicate a possible role in photoreceptor stability.