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Real‐time Monitoring of Discrete Synaptic Release Events and Excitatory Potentials within Self‐reconstructed Neuromuscular Junctions
Author(s) -
Li YuTao,
Zhang ShuHui,
Wang XueYing,
Zhang XinWei,
Oleinick Alexander I.,
Svir Irina,
Amatore Christian,
Huang WeiHua
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201503801
Subject(s) - excitatory postsynaptic potential , neurotransmission , postsynaptic potential , neuroscience , synapse , biological neural network , biophysics , materials science , chemistry , biology , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , biochemistry , receptor
Chemical synaptic transmission is central to the brain functions. In this regard, real‐time monitoring of chemical synaptic transmission during neuronal communication remains a great challenge. In this work, in vivo‐like oriented neural networks between superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons and their effector smooth muscle cells (SMC) were assembled in a microfluidic device. This allowed amperometric detection of individual neurotransmitter release events inside functional SCG‐SMC synapse with carbon fiber nanoelectrodes as well as recording of postsynaptic potential using glass nanopipette electrodes. The high vesicular release activities essentially involved complex events arising from flickering fusion pores as quantitatively established based on simulations. This work allowed for the first time monitoring in situ chemical synaptic transmission under conditions close to those found in vivo, which may yield important and new insights into the nature of neuronal communications.