Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
07:30
Measuring Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons
Published on: September 4, 2017
Reversal of synaptic vesicle docking at central synapses
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Molecular Neurobiology Lab, Salk Institute, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
Nature Neuroscience
|August 17, 1999
Summary
Vesicles undock from hippocampal synapses over threefold faster than they spontaneously fuse. This finding reveals a faster undocking rate than spontaneous exocytosis in synaptic vesicle dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Synaptic Physiology
Background:
- Synaptic vesicles are crucial for neurotransmission.
- Understanding vesicle dynamics at the active zone is key to synaptic function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the rates of vesicle undocking and spontaneous exocytosis.
- To compare the kinetics of these two fundamental processes in hippocampal synapses.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative fluorescence imaging was employed.
- Vesicles were labeled with membrane-soluble dyes.
- Studies were conducted on cultured hippocampal synapses.
Main Results:
- Individual vesicles undock approximately once every two minutes.
- Individual vesicles undergo spontaneous exocytosis about once every eight minutes.
- Undocking occurs more than threefold faster than spontaneous fusion.
Conclusions:
- Vesicle undocking is a significant and rapid process at the active zone.
- The faster rate of undocking compared to spontaneous exocytosis suggests distinct regulatory mechanisms.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane
Proteins and neurotransmitters in secretory vesicles can be released from a cell upon vesicle docking, priming, and fusion with the plasma membrane. Vesicles are docked and primed in preparation for the quick exocytosis of their contents in response to a stimulus. The fusion process is mainly carried out by a SNAP Receptor or SNARE complex, consisting of synaptobrevin, syntaxin-1, and SNAP-25.
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
01:43SNAREs and Membrane Fusion
Once a transport vesicle has recognized its target organelle, the vesicular membrane needs to fuse with the target membrane to unload the cargo. Transmembrane proteins called SNAREs present on organelle membranes and their vesicles, mediate vesicle fusion.
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
01:45Vesicular Tubular Clusters
After budding out from the ER membrane, some COPII vesicles lose their coat and fuse with one another to form larger vesicles and interconnected tubules called vesicular tubular clusters or VTCs. These clusters constitute a compartment at the ER-Golgi interface known as ERGIC (Endoplasmic Reticulum Golgi Intermediate Compartment). The ERGIC is a mobile membrane-bound cargo transport system that sorts proteins secreted from ER and delivers them to the Golgi.
With the help of motor proteins such...
With the help of motor proteins such...
01:15Receptor Downregulation in MVBs
Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are mature endosomes that sort ubiquitinated proteins and then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the sorted proteins. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) form a complex that can be internalized through endocytosis, sorted into an MVB, and later degraded.
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR activation may...
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR activation may...
01:26Chemical Synapses
Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
01:26Chemical Synapses
Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...