scholarly journals Role of Rab3 GDP/GTP Exchange Protein in Synaptic Vesicle Trafficking at the Mouse Neuromuscular Junction

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1421-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miki Tanaka ◽  
Jun Miyoshi ◽  
Hiroyoshi Ishizaki ◽  
Atsushi Togawa ◽  
Katsunori Ohnishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Axonal Conduction ◽  
Small G Protein ◽  
Presynaptic Plasma Membrane ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscles ◽  
Exchange Protein

The Rab3 small G protein family consists of four members, Rab3A, -3B, -3C, and -3D. Of these members, Rab3A regulates Ca2+-dependent neurotransmitter release. These small G proteins are activated by Rab3 GDP/GTP exchange protein (Rab3 GEP). To determine the function of Rab3 GEP during neurotransmitter release, we have knocked out Rab3 GEP in mice. Rab3 GEP−/− mice developed normally but died immediately after birth. Embryos at E18.5 showed no evoked action potentials of the diaphragm and gastrocnemius muscles in response to electrical stimulation of the phrenic and sciatic nerves, respectively. In contrast, axonal conduction of the spinal cord and the phrenic nerve was not impaired. Total numbers of synaptic vesicles, especially those docked at the presynaptic plasma membrane, were reduced at the neuromuscular junction ∼10-fold compared with controls, whereas postsynaptic structures and functions appeared normal. Thus, Rab3 GEP is essential for neurotransmitter release and probably for formation and trafficking of the synaptic vesicles.

scholarly journals Role of α-SNAP in Promoting Efficient Neurotransmission at the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 3406-3416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping He ◽  
R. Chase Southard ◽  
Dong Chen ◽  
S. W. Whiteheart ◽  
R. L. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Synaptic Current ◽  
Attachment Protein ◽  
Quantal Analysis ◽  
Sensitive Factor ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies ◽  
Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction

In this manuscript, we address the role of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein (α-SNAP) in synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction of the crayfish opener muscle. Immunochemcial methods confirm the presence of α-SNAP in these preparations and show that it is concentrated in the synaptic areas. Microinjection and electrophysiological studies show that α-SNAP causes an increase in neurotransmitter release yet does not significantly affect the kinetics. More specific quantal analysis, using focal, macropatch, synaptic current recordings, shows that α-SNAP increases transmitter release by increasing the probability of exocytosis but not the number of potential release sites. These data demonstrate that the role of α-SNAP is to increase the efficiency of neurotransmission by increasing the probability that a stimulus will result in neurotransmitter release. What this suggests is that α-SNAP is critical for the formation and maintenance of a “ready release” pool of synaptic vesicles.

Different VAMP/Synaptobrevin Complexes for Spontaneous and Evoked Transmitter Release at the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 3233-3246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao-Ying Hua ◽  
Dorota A. Raciborska ◽  
William S. Trimble ◽  
Milton P. Charlton
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Transmitter Release ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Spontaneous Release ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Evoked Transmitter Release

Hua, Shao-Ying, Dorota A. Raciborska, William S. Trimble, and Milton P. Charlton. Different VAMP/synaptobrevin complexes for spontaneous and evoked transmitter release at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 3233–3246, 1998. Although vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP/synaptobrevin) is essential for evoked neurotransmitter release, its role in spontaneous transmitter release remains uncertain. For instance, many studies show that tetanus toxin (TeNT), which cleaves VAMP, blocks evoked transmitter release but leaves some spontaneous transmitter release. We used recombinant tetanus and botulinum neurotoxin catalytic light chains (TeNT-LC, BoNT/B-LC, and BoNT/D-LC) to examine the role of VAMP in spontaneous transmitter release at neuromuscular junctions (nmj) of crayfish. Injection of TeNT-LC into presynaptic axons removed most of the VAMP immunoreactivity and blocked evoked transmitter release without affecting nerve action potentials or Ca2+ influx. The frequency of spontaneous transmitter release was little affected by the TeNT-LC when the evoked transmitter release had been blocked by >95%. The spontaneous transmitter release left after TeNT-LC treatment was insensitive to increases in intracellular Ca2+. BoNT/B-LC, which cleaves VAMP at the same site as TeNT-LC but uses a different binding site, also blocked evoked release but had minimal effect on spontaneous release. However, BoNT/D-LC, which cleaves VAMP at a different site from the other two toxins but binds to the same position on VAMP as TeNT, blocked both evoked and spontaneous transmitter release at similar rates. The data indicate that different VAMP complexes are employed for evoked and spontaneous transmitter release; the VAMP used in spontaneous release is not readily cleaved by TeNT or BoNT/B. Because the exocytosis that occurs after the action of TeNT cannot be increased by increased intracellular Ca2+, the final steps in neurotransmitter release are Ca2+ independent.

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 Motoneuron Wnts regulate neuromuscular junction development

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengyong Shen ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Kai Zhao ◽  
Lei Bai ◽  
Ailian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Nerve Terminals ◽  
Presynaptic Differentiation ◽  
Gene Mutant ◽  
Postsynaptic Differentiation ◽  
Presynaptic Assembly

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a synapse between motoneurons and skeletal muscles to control motor behavior. Unlike extensively investigated postsynaptic differentiation, less is known about mechanisms of presynaptic assembly. Genetic evidence of Wnt in mammalian NMJ development was missing due to the existence of multiple Wnts and their receptors. We show when Wnt secretion is abolished from motoneurons by mutating the Wnt ligand secretion mediator (Wls) gene, mutant mice showed muscle weakness and neurotransmission impairment. NMJs were unstable with reduced synaptic junctional folds and fragmented AChR clusters. Nerve terminals were swollen; synaptic vesicles were fewer and mislocated. The presynaptic deficits occurred earlier than postsynaptic deficits. Intriguingly, these phenotypes were not observed when deleting Wls in muscles or Schwann cells. We identified Wnt7A and Wnt7B as major Wnts for nerve terminal development in rescue experiments. These observations demonstrate a necessary role of motoneuron Wnts in NMJ development, in particular presynaptic differentiation.

scholarly journals Quantitative analysis of the native presynaptic cytomatrix by cryoelectron tomography

2010 ◽  
Vol 188 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego ◽  
Benoît Zuber ◽  
Ulrike Elisabeth Maurer ◽  
Marek Cyrklaff ◽  
Wolfgang Baumeister ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Attachment Protein ◽  
Readily Releasable Pool ◽  
Protein Receptor ◽  
Membrane Contact ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle Release ◽  
Protein Attachment

The presynaptic terminal contains a complex network of filaments whose precise organization and functions are not yet understood. The cryoelectron tomography experiments reported in this study indicate that these structures play a prominent role in synaptic vesicle release. Docked synaptic vesicles did not make membrane to membrane contact with the active zone but were instead linked to it by tethers of different length. Our observations are consistent with an exocytosis model in which vesicles are first anchored by long (>5 nm) tethers that give way to multiple short tethers once vesicles enter the readily releasable pool. The formation of short tethers was inhibited by tetanus toxin, indicating that it depends on soluble N-ethyl-maleimide sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor complex assembly. Vesicles were extensively interlinked via a set of connectors that underwent profound rearrangements upon synaptic stimulation and okadaic acid treatment, suggesting a role of these connectors in synaptic vesicle mobilization and neurotransmitter release.

scholarly journals Neurotransmitter Release Site Replenishment and Presynaptic Plasticity

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 327
Author(s):  
Sumiko Mochida
Keyword(s):  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Term Plasticity ◽  
Multiple Protein ◽  
Presynaptic Plasticity ◽  
Presynaptic Plasma Membrane ◽  
Ca2 Channels

An action potential (AP) triggers neurotransmitter release from synaptic vesicles (SVs) docking to a specialized release site of presynaptic plasma membrane, the active zone (AZ). The AP simultaneously controls the release site replenishment with SV for sustainable synaptic transmission in response to incoming neuronal signals. Although many studies have suggested that the replenishment time is relatively slow, recent studies exploring high speed resolution have revealed SV dynamics with milliseconds timescale after an AP. Accurate regulation is conferred by proteins sensing Ca2+ entering through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels opened by an AP. This review summarizes how millisecond Ca2+ dynamics activate multiple protein cascades for control of the release site replenishment with release-ready SVs that underlie presynaptic short-term plasticity.

scholarly journals Control of neurotransmitter release by two distinctmembrane-binding faces of the Munc13-1 C­1C2B region

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcial Camacho ◽  
Bradley Quade ◽  
Thorsten Trimbuch ◽  
Junjie Xu ◽  
Levent Sari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Synaptic Vesicles ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Short Term ◽  
In Vitro Reconstitution ◽  
Presynaptic Plasticity ◽  
Hippocampal Cultures

Munc13-1 plays a central role in neurotransmitter release through its conserved C-terminal region, which includes a diacyglycerol (DAG)-binding C1 domain, a Ca2+/PIP2-binding C2B domain, a MUN domain and a C2C domain. Munc13-1 was proposed to bridge synaptic vesicles to the plasma membrane through distinct interactions of the C­1C2B region with the plasma membrane: i) one involving a polybasic face that is expected to yield a perpendicular orientation of Munc13-1 and hinder release; and ii) another involving the DAG-Ca2+-PIP2-binding face that is predicted to result in a slanted orientation and facilitate release. Here we have tested this model and investigated the role of the C­1C2B region in neurotransmitter release. We find that K603E or R769E point mutations in the polybasic face severely impair Ca2+-independent liposome bridging and fusion in in vitro reconstitution assays, and synaptic vesicle priming in primary murine hippocampal cultures. A K720E mutation in the polybasic face and a K706E mutation in the C2B domain Ca2+-binding loops have milder effects in reconstitution assays and do not affect vesicle priming, but enhance or impair Ca2+-evoked release, respectively. The phenotypes caused by combining these mutations are dominated by the K603E and R769E mutations. Our results show that the C1-C2B region of Munc13-1 plays a central role in vesicle priming and support the notion that two distinct faces of this region control neurotransmitter release and short-term presynaptic plasticity.

Substitution of extracellular Ca2+ by Sr2+ prolongs inspiratory burst in pre-Bötzinger complex inspiratory neurons

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 1175-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Consuelo Morgado-Valle ◽  
Juan Fernandez-Ruiz ◽  
Leonor Lopez-Meraz ◽  
Luis Beltran-Parrazal
Keyword(s):  
Neurotransmitter Release ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Hypoglossal Nerve ◽  
Glutamate Release ◽  
Established Method ◽  
Bötzinger Complex ◽  
Inspiratory Activity ◽  
First Time ◽  
Intense Debate

The pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) underlies inspiratory rhythm generation. As a result of network interactions, preBötC neurons burst synchronously to produce rhythmic premotor inspiratory activity. Each inspiratory burst consists of action potentials (APs) on top of a 10- to 20-mV synchronous depolarization lasting 0.3–0.8 s known as inspiratory drive potential. The mechanisms underlying the initiation and termination of the inspiratory burst are unclear, and the role of Ca2+ is a matter of intense debate. To investigate the role of extracellular Ca2+ in inspiratory burst initiation and termination, we substituted extracellular Ca2+ with Sr2+. We found for the first time an ionic manipulation that significantly interferes with burst termination. In a rhythmically active slice, we current-clamped preBötC neurons ( Vm ≅ −60 mV) while recording integrated hypoglossal nerve (∫XIIn) activity as motor output. Substitution of extracellular Ca2+ with either 1.5 or 2.5 mM Sr2+ significantly prolonged the duration of inspiratory bursts from 653.4 ± 30.7 ms in control conditions to 981.6 ± 78.5 ms in 1.5 mM Sr2+ and 2,048.2 ± 448.5 ms in 2.5 mM Sr2+, with a concomitant increase in decay time and area. Substitution of extracellular Ca2+ by Sr2+ is a well-established method to desynchronize neurotransmitter release. Our findings suggest that the increase in inspiratory burst duration is determined by a presynaptic mechanism involving desynchronization of glutamate release within the network.

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