Premium
Proteins involved in synaptic vesicle trafficking
Author(s) -
Augustine George J.,
Burns Marie E.,
DeBello William M.,
Hilfiker Sabine,
Morgan Jennifer R.,
Schweizer Felix E.,
Tokumaru Hiroshi,
Umayahara Keiko
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1999.00033.x
Subject(s) - neurotransmitter , synaptic vesicle , neurotransmission , neurotransmitter agents , microbiology and biotechnology , vesicle , chemistry , free nerve ending , neuroscience , biology , biophysics , biochemistry , receptor , anatomy , membrane
Neurotransmitter release relies on a series of synaptic vesicle trafficking reactions. We have determined the molecular basis of these reactions by microinjecting, into ‘giant’ nerve terminals of squid, probes that interfere with presynaptic proteins. These probes affect neurotransmitter release and disrupt nerve terminal structure. From the nature of these lesions, it is possible to deduce the roles of individual proteins in specific vesicle trafficking reactions. This approach has revealed the function of more than a dozen presynaptic proteins and we hypothesize that neurotransmitter release requires the coordinated action of perhaps 50–100 proteins.