1,721,059 research outputs found
Molecular mechanisms in neurotransmitter release
No full textThe vesicle hypothesis of neurotransmitter release was first formulated in the 1950s, but only recently have the molecular mechanisms involved in neurotransmitter release begun to be elucidated. This short review summarizes current concepts on neurosecretion and the available information on synaptic vesicle exocytosis
Calcium dependence of synaptic vesicle recycling before and after synaptogenesis
No full textUsing an immunocytochemical assay to monitor synaptic vesicle exocytosis/endocytosis independently of neurotransmitter release, we have investigated some aspects of vesicle recycling in hippocampal neurons at different developmental stages. A calcium- and depolarization-dependent exocytotic/endocytotic recycling of synaptic vesicles was found to take place in neurons already before the formation of synaptic contacts. The analysis of synaptic vesicle recycling at different calcium concentrations revealed the presence of two release components: the first one activated by low calcium concentrations and sustaining vesicle recycling before synaptogenesis, and a second one activated by high calcium concentrations, which is specifically turned on after the establishment of synaptic contacts. These data suggest that formation of synapses correlates with the activation of a putative low- affinity calcium sensor, which allows synaptic vesicle exocytosis to be triggered and turned off over extremely short time scales, in response to large increases in the level of intracellular calcium
Exo-endocytotic recycling of synaptic vesicles in developing processes of cultured hippocampal neurons
No full textIn mature neurons synaptic vesicles (SVs) undergo cycles of exo-endocytosis at synapses. It is currently unknown whether SV exocytosis and recycling occurs also in developing axons prior to synapse formation. To address this question, we have developed an immunocytochemical assay to reveal SV exo-endocytosis in hippocampal neurons developing in culture. In this assay antibodies directed against the lumenal domain of synaptotagmin I (Syt I), an intrinsic membrane protein of SVs, are used to reveal exposure of SV membranes at the cell surface. Addition of antibodies to the culture medium of living neurons for 1 hr at 37 degrees C resulted in their rapid and specific internalization by all neuronal processes and, particularly, by axons. Double immunofluorescence and electron microscopy immunocytochemistry indicated that the antibodies were retained within SVs in cell processes and underwent cycles of exo-endocytosis in parallel with SV membranes. In contrast, another endocytotic marker, wheat germ agglutinin, was rapidly cleared from the processes and transported to the cell body. Antibody-labeled SVs were still present in axons several days after antibody loading and became clustered at presynaptic sites in parallel with synaptogenesis. These results demonstrate that SVs undergo multiple cycles of exo-endocytosis in developing neuronal processes irrespective of the presence of synaptic contacts
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
A radioimmunoassay to monitor synaptic activity in hippocampal neurons in vitro
No full textExocytosis of synaptic vesicles (SV) results in the surface exposure of lumenal epitopes of SV proteins. We have recently described the use of antibodies directed against the lumenal N-terminus of synaptotagmin I (Sytlum-Abs) to morphologically monitor exo-endocytic recycling of SVs. We report here that a radioimmunoassay based on these antibodies can be used to quantify levels of synaptic activity in primary neuronal cultures. High density cultures of hippocampal neurons grown in the absence of glia were used for these studies. A significant cell surface pool of synaptotagmin I immunoreactivity was detectable by Sytlum-Abs at steady state. The increase in the amount of Sytlum-Abs which became cell bound during a 3 min incubation at 37 degrees C over the Ab bound to this cell surface pool, was substantially higher in depolarizing media containing extracellular Ca2+ than in Ca(2+)-free media. Incubation of the cultures with Sytlum-Abs for longer time periods indicated a sustained increase in the rate of SV exocytosis in depolarizing media which lasted for at least 1 h. This increase was completely abolished by pretreating the neurons with tetanus toxin and this block correlated with a disappearance of synaptobrevin immunoreactivity. This radioimmunoassay therefore offers a new way to monitor SV exocytosis of neuronal populations in vitro irrespective of the type of neurotransmitter secreted and of postsynaptic effects
A novel pathway for presynaptic mitogen-activated kinase activation via AMPA receptors
No full textAMPA-type glutamate receptors play a key role in mediating postsynaptic responses of excitatory neurotransmitters. It is now well accepted that AMPA receptors are also present at the presynapse, where they are thought to modulate neurotransmitter release. However, the mechanisms through which they control synaptic vesicle traffic have remained elusive. We used cultured hippocampal neurons and growth cone particles prepared from fetal rat brain to investigate the functional role of presynaptic AMPA receptors. We show here that stimulation of presynaptic AMPA receptors induces activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) through a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase-dependent and Na +/Ca2+-independent mechanism. This pathway is activated predominantly in axonal growth cones compared with the somatodendritic compartment. After stimulation of presynaptic AMPA receptors, synapsin I is phosphorylated at MAPK-specific sites. These events are paralleled by a prominent increase in evoked synaptic vesicle recycling that is blocked by the specific MAPK inhibitor 2-(2-amino-3-methoxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one. Similarly, in synaptosomes isolated from adult brain, AMPA stimulation induces MAPK activation and phosphorylation of synapsin I at MAPK-dependent sites and enhances significantly synaptic vesicle recycling. These results reveal a novel pathway for activation of presynaptic MAPK and suggest a role of this pathway in the regulation of short-term presynaptic plasticity
TTP specifically regulates the internalization of the transferrin receptor
No full textDifferent plasma membrane receptors are internalized through saturable/noncompetitive pathways, suggesting cargo-specific regulation. Here, we report that TTP (SH3BP4), a SH3-containing protein, specifically regulates the internalization of the transferrin receptor (TfR). TTP interacts with endocytic proteins, including clathrin, dynamin, and the TfR, and localizes selectively to TfR-containing coated-pits (CCP) and -vesicles (CCV). Overexpression of TTP specifically inhibits TfR internalization, and causes the formation of morphologically aberrant CCP, which are probably fission impaired. This effect is mediated by the SH3 of TTP, which can bind to dynamin, and it is rescued by overexpression of dynamin. Functional ablation of TTP causes a reduction in TfR internalization, and reduced cargo loading and size of TfR-CCV. Tyrosine phosphorylation of either TTP or dynamin prevents their interaction, pointing to a possible mechanism of exclusion of TTP from some CCP. Thus, TTP might represent one of the long sought for molecules that allow cargo-specific control of clathrin endocytosis. (copyright)2005 Elsevier Inc
Synaptic vesicle proteins and early endosomes in cultured hippocampal neurons : differential effects of Brefeldin A in axon and dendrites
No full textThe pathways of synaptic vesicle (SV) biogenesis and recycling are still poorly understood. We have studied the effects of Brefeldin A (BFA) on the distribution of several SV membrane proteins (synaptophysin, synaptotagmin, synaptobrevin, p29, SV2 and rab3A) and on endosomal markers to investigate the relationship between SVs and the membranes with which they interact in cultured hippocampal neurons developing in isolation. In these neurons, SV proteins are detected as punctate immunoreactivity that is concentrated in axons but is also present in perikarya and dendrites. In the same neurons, the transferrin receptor, a well established marker of early endosomes, is selectively concentrated in perikarya and dendrites. In the perikaryal-dendritic region, BFA induced a dramatic tubulation of transferrin receptors as well as a cotubulation of the bulk of synaptophysin. Synaptotagmin, synaptobrevin, p29 and SV2 immunoreactivities retained a primarily punctate distribution. No tubulation of rab3A was observed. In axons, BFA did not produce any obvious alteration of the distribution of SV proteins, nor of peroxidase- or Lucifer yellow-labeled early endosomes. The selective effect of BFA on dendritic membranes suggests the existence of functional differences between the endocytic systems in dendrites and axons. Cotubulation of transferrin receptors and synaptophysin in the perikaryal-dendritic region is consistent with a functional interconnection between the traffic of SV proteins and early endosomes. The heterogeneous effects of BFA on SV proteins in this cell region indicates that SV proteins are differentially sorted upon exit from the TGN and are coassembled into SVs at the cell periphery
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