Getting a GRIP on liprins.

Two papers in this issue of Neuron add a new dimension to our understanding of liprin and LAR RPTP function during synapse formation. present evidence that Dliprin-alpha interacts with Dlar to regulate presynaptic morphogenesis of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. demonstrate that mammalian liprin-alpha1 forms a complex with the PDZ protein GRIP and LAR in both pre- and postsynaptic compartments of hippocampal neurons and is required for the clustering of the GluR2 glutamate receptor in dendritic spines.