scholarly journals SLO-1 Potassium Channels Control Quantal Content of Neurotransmitter Release at the C. elegans Neuromuscular Junction

Neuron ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 867-881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-Wen Wang ◽  
Owais Saifee ◽  
Michael L. Nonet ◽  
Lawrence Salkoff
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Channels ◽  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Quantal Content ◽  
C Elegans

Role of NSF in Neurotransmitter Release: A Peptide Microinjection Study at the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 1053-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Parnas ◽  
G. Rashkovan ◽  
V. O'Connor ◽  
O. El-Far ◽  
H. Betz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Synaptic Delay ◽  
Quantal Content ◽  
Presynaptic Mechanisms ◽  
Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction

Peptides that inhibit the SNAP-stimulated ATPase activity of N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein (NSF-2, NSF-3) were injected intra-axonally to study the role of this protein in the release of glutamate at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. Macropatch recording was used to establish the quantal content and to construct synaptic delay histograms. NSF-2 or NSF-3 injection reduced the quantal content, evoked by either direct depolarization of a single release bouton or by axonal action potentials, on average by 66 ± 12% (mean ± SD; n = 32), but had no effect on the time course of release. NSF-2 had no effect on the amplitude or shape of the presynaptic action potential nor on the excitatory nerve terminal current. Neither NSF-2 nor NSF-3 affected the shape or amplitude of single quantal currents. Injection of a peptide with the same composition as NSF-2, but with a scrambled amino acid sequence, failed to alter the quantal content. We conclude that, at the crayfish neuromuscular junction, NSF-dependent reactions regulate quantal content without contributing to the presynaptic mechanisms that control the time course of release.

scholarly journals Presynaptic Paraneoplastic Disorders of the Neuromuscular Junction: An Update

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1035
Author(s):  
Maria Pia Giannoccaro ◽  
Patrizia Avoni ◽  
Rocco Liguori
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Channels ◽  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Calcium Channels ◽  
Myasthenia Gravis ◽  
Neuromuscular Transmission ◽  
Voltage Gated ◽  
Voltage Gated Calcium Channels ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Myasthenic Syndrome

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is the target of a variety of immune-mediated disorders, usually classified as presynaptic and postsynaptic, according to the site of the antigenic target and consequently of the neuromuscular transmission alteration. Although less common than the classical autoimmune postsynaptic myasthenia gravis, presynaptic disorders are important to recognize due to the frequent association with cancer. Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome is due to a presynaptic failure to release acetylcholine, caused by antibodies to the presynaptic voltage-gated calcium channels. Acquired neuromyotonia is a condition characterized by nerve hyperexcitability often due to the presence of antibodies against proteins associated with voltage-gated potassium channels. This review will focus on the recent developments in the autoimmune presynaptic disorders of the NMJ.

Facilitation at the Lobster Neuromuscular Junction: A Stimulus-Dependent Mobilization Model

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 417-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Kate Worden ◽  
Maria Bykhovskaia ◽  
John T. Hackett
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Kinetic Equations ◽  
Nerve Impulse ◽  
Stimulation Frequency ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Quantal Content ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Average Probability ◽  
Frequency Facilitation

Worden, Mary Kate, Maria Bykhovskaia, and John T. Hackett. Facilitation at the lobster neuromuscular junction: a stimulus-dependent mobilization model. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 417–428, 1997. Frequency facilitation is a process whereby neurosecretion increases as a function of stimulation frequency during repetitive synaptic activity. To examine the physiological basis underlying facilitation, we have estimated the frequency dependence of the synaptic parameters n (number of units capable of responding to a nerve impulse) and P (average probability of responding) at the lobster neuromuscular junction. Both n and P increase as a function of frequency, suggesting that the efficiency of quantal docking and quantal fusion is regulated by repetitive synaptic activity. In experiments in which facilitation is strong and quantal content does not saturate over the frequency range tested, the value of P saturates at low frequencies of stimulation, and increases in quantal content at higher frequencies of stimulation are due to an increase in n. Therefore the value of P does not limit facilitation. We propose that transmitter release is limited by the rates of quantal mobilization and demobilization, and that each excitatory stimulus causes additional mobilization of quanta to dock at the presynaptic release sites. In such a model the binomial parameter n will correspond to the number of quanta docked at the release sites and available for release. We have developed and solved kinetic equations that describe how the number of docked quanta changes as a function of time and of stimulation frequency. The stimulus-dependent mobilization model of facilitation predicts that the reciprocal value of the quantal content depends linearly on the reciprocal product of the stimulation frequency and the probability of release. Fits of the experimental data confirm the accuracy of this prediction, showing that the model proposed here quantitatively describes frequency facilitation. The model predicts that high rates of quantal demobilization will produce strong frequency facilitation.

scholarly journals Homeostatic synaptic depression is achieved through a regulated decrease in presynaptic calcium channel abundance

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A Gaviño ◽  
Kevin J Ford ◽  
Santiago Archila ◽  
Graeme W Davis
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Plasticity ◽  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Action Potential ◽  
Calcium Channel ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Calcium Influx ◽  
Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity ◽  
Action Potential Waveform ◽  
Presynaptic Calcium ◽  
Potential Waveform

Homeostatic signaling stabilizes synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) of Drosophila, mice, and human. It is believed that homeostatic signaling at the NMJ is bi-directional and considerable progress has been made identifying mechanisms underlying the homeostatic potentiation of neurotransmitter release. However, very little is understood mechanistically about the opposing process, homeostatic depression, and how bi-directional plasticity is achieved. Here, we show that homeostatic potentiation and depression can be simultaneously induced, demonstrating true bi-directional plasticity. Next, we show that mutations that block homeostatic potentiation do not alter homeostatic depression, demonstrating that these are genetically separable processes. Finally, we show that homeostatic depression is achieved by decreased presynaptic calcium channel abundance and calcium influx, changes that are independent of the presynaptic action potential waveform. Thus, we identify a novel mechanism of homeostatic synaptic plasticity and propose a model that can account for the observed bi-directional, homeostatic control of presynaptic neurotransmitter release.

scholarly journals Melatonin promotes sleep by activating the BK channel in C. elegans

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (40) ◽  
pp. 25128-25137
Author(s):  
Longgang Niu ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Pengyu Zong ◽  
Ping Liu ◽  
Yuan Shui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
G Protein ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Molecular Target ◽  
Bk Channel ◽  
G Protein Coupled Receptors ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Heterologous Expression System ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
G Protein Coupled

Melatonin (Mel) promotes sleep through G protein-coupled receptors. However, the downstream molecular target(s) is unknown. We identified the Caenorhabditis elegans BK channel SLO-1 as a molecular target of the Mel receptor PCDR-1-. Knockout of pcdr-1, slo-1, or homt-1 (a gene required for Mel synthesis) causes substantially increased neurotransmitter release and shortened sleep duration, and these effects are nonadditive in double knockouts. Exogenous Mel inhibits neurotransmitter release and promotes sleep in wild-type (WT) but not pcdr-1 and slo-1 mutants. In a heterologous expression system, Mel activates the human BK channel (hSlo1) in a membrane-delimited manner in the presence of the Mel receptor MT1 but not MT2. A peptide acting to release free Gβγ also activates hSlo1 in a MT1-dependent and membrane-delimited manner, whereas a Gβλ inhibitor abolishes the stimulating effect of Mel. Our results suggest that Mel promotes sleep by activating the BK channel through a specific Mel receptor and Gβλ.

Partial Uncoupling of Neurotransmitter Release From [Ca2+]i by Membrane Hyperpolarization

1999 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 3044-3053 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ravin ◽  
H. Parnas ◽  
M. E. Spira ◽  
I. Parnas
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Potential ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Quantal Content ◽  
Presynaptic Membrane ◽  
Release Process ◽  
Membrane Hyperpolarization ◽  
Quantal Release ◽  
Asynchronous Release ◽  
Frequency Of Stimulation ◽  
Different Levels

Partial uncoupling of neurotransmitter release from [Ca2+]i by membrane hyperpolarization. The dependence of evoked and asynchronous release on intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) and presynaptic membrane potential was examined in single-release boutons of the crayfish opener neuromuscular junction. When a single bouton was depolarized by a train of pulses, [Ca2+]iincreased to different levels according to the frequency of stimulation. Concomitant measurements of evoked release and asynchronous release, from the same bouton, showed that both increased in a sigmoidal manner as a function of [Ca2+]i. When each of the depolarizing pulses was immediately followed by a hyperpolarizing pulse, [Ca2+]i was elevated to a lesser degree than in the control experiments, and the rate of asynchronous release and the quantal content were reduced; most importantly, evoked quantal release terminated sooner. The diminution of neurotransmitter release by the hyperpolarizing postpulse (HPP) could not be entirely accounted for by the reduction in [Ca2+]i. The experimental results are consistent with the hypothesis that the HPP reduces the sensitivity of the release machinery to [Ca2+]i, thereby not only reducing the quantal content but also terminating the quantal release process sooner.

Endurance exercise modulates neuromuscular junction of C57BL/6NNia aging mice

1997 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Fahim
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Endurance Exercise ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Safety Margin ◽  
Gluteus Maximus ◽  
Nerve Terminals ◽  
Quantal Content ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Endplate Potentials ◽  
Old Mice

Fahim, Mohamed A. Endurance exercise modulates neuromuscular junction of C57BL/6NNia aging mice. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(1): 59–66, 1997.—The effect of age and endurance exercise on the physiology and morphology of neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) of gluteus maximus muscle was studied in C57BL/6NNia mice. Mice were exercised, starting at 7 or 25 mo of age, at 28 m/min for 60 min/day, 5 days/wk for 12 wk, on a rodent treadmill. Intracellular recordings of spontaneous miniature endplate potentials (MEPP) and the quantal content of endplate potentials (EPP) were recorded from NMJ of 10- and 28-mo-old control and exercised mice. Endurance exercise resulted in significant increases in MEPP amplitudes (23%), quantal content, and safety margin, and a significant decrease in MEPP frequency of young mice, with no change in resting membrane potential or membrane capacitance. Three months of endurance exercise resulted in an increase in MEPP frequency (41%) and decreases in MEPP amplitudes (15%), quantal content, and safety margin of old mice. Endurance exercise resulted in significantly larger nerve terminals (24%) in young animals, suggesting functional adaptation. Nerve terminals in exercised 28-mo-old mice were smaller than in the corresponding control mice, an indication that exercise minimized age-related nerve terminal elaboration. It is concluded that the different physiological responses of young and old gluteus maximus muscles to endurance exercise parallel their morphological responses. This suggests that the mouse NMJ undergoes a process of physiological and morphological remodeling during aging, and such plasticity could be modulated differently by endurance exercise.

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