Although the correlation between synaptic structure and function has been studied in detail at the neuromuscular junction, we face many open questions. Central synapses are even less well understood. Recent studies have shown that the size of a single synaptic contact is correlated to its function. In particular the number of vesicles docked at the active zone seems to accurately predict the release probability of that contact. It is not clear, however, whether every vesicle contributes equally to the release probability. An exact mapping of the position of docked vesicles might reveal functional differences between individual vesicles. We, therefore, reconstructed hippocampal synapses by using high voltage electron microscopy and tomographic 3-D reconstructions. Using this method we can resolve the position of every vesicle with an error of less than 10 nm in all dimensions, whereas reconstructions from serial sections are limited to a 6 times lower resolution in the z-axis. Thus far, 10 synapses have been reconstructed. The center to center distances of the docked vesicles were calculated using the program xdsphere developed at NCMIR by Stephan Lamont and analyzed with the pair correlation function. The function shows a complex but orderly pattern that is consistent between active zones. This work was presented at the Winter Brain Conference this year in Park City, Utah.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)
Type
Biotechnology Resource Grants (P41)
Project #
5P41RR004050-12
Application #
6354290
Study Section
Project Start
2000-05-01
Project End
2001-04-30
Budget Start
1998-10-01
Budget End
1999-09-30
Support Year
12
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$57,709
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Diego
Department
Type
DUNS #
077758407
City
La Jolla
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92093
Funakoshi, Shunsuke; Miki, Kenji; Takaki, Tadashi et al. (2016) Enhanced engraftment, proliferation, and therapeutic potential in heart using optimized human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Sci Rep 6:19111
Rubio-Marrero, Eva N; Vincelli, Gabriele; Jeffries, Cy M et al. (2016) Structural Characterization of the Extracellular Domain of CASPR2 and Insights into Its Association with the Novel Ligand Contactin1. J Biol Chem 291:5788-802
Yin, Xinghua; Kidd, Grahame J; Ohno, Nobuhiko et al. (2016) Proteolipid protein-deficient myelin promotes axonal mitochondrial dysfunction via altered metabolic coupling. J Cell Biol 215:531-542
Zhao, Claire Y; Greenstein, Joseph L; Winslow, Raimond L (2016) Roles of phosphodiesterases in the regulation of the cardiac cyclic nucleotide cross-talk signaling network. J Mol Cell Cardiol 91:215-27
Rajagopal, Vijay; Bass, Gregory; Walker, Cameron G et al. (2015) Examination of the Effects of Heterogeneous Organization of RyR Clusters, Myofibrils and Mitochondria on Ca2+ Release Patterns in Cardiomyocytes. PLoS Comput Biol 11:e1004417
Schachtrup, Christian; Ryu, Jae Kyu; Mammadzada, Könül et al. (2015) Nuclear pore complex remodeling by p75(NTR) cleavage controls TGF-? signaling and astrocyte functions. Nat Neurosci 18:1077-80
Sanders, Matthew A; Madoux, Franck; Mladenovic, Ljiljana et al. (2015) Endogenous and Synthetic ABHD5 Ligands Regulate ABHD5-Perilipin Interactions and Lipolysis in Fat and Muscle. Cell Metab 22:851-60
Takeshima, Hiroshi; Hoshijima, Masahiko; Song, Long-Sheng (2015) Ca²? microdomains organized by junctophilins. Cell Calcium 58:349-56
Mills, Elizabeth A; Davis, Chung-ha O; Bushong, Eric A et al. (2015) Astrocytes phagocytose focal dystrophies from shortening myelin segments in the optic nerve of Xenopus laevis at metamorphosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:10509-14
Kim, K-Y; Perkins, G A; Shim, M S et al. (2015) DRP1 inhibition rescues retinal ganglion cells and their axons by preserving mitochondrial integrity in a mouse model of glaucoma. Cell Death Dis 6:e1839

Showing the most recent 10 out of 384 publications