Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 4, 2026
09:32
Direct Imaging of ER Calcium with Targeted-Esterase Induced Dye Loading TED
Published on: May 7, 2013
18.5K
Intracellular calcium stores regulate activity-dependent neuropeptide release from dendrites.
Mike Ludwig1, Nancy Sabatier, Philip M Bull
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, UK. mike.ludwig@ed.ac.uk
Nature
|July 5, 2002
Summary
Hypothalamic oxytocin neurons release oxytocin from dendrites independently of cell body electrical activity. Intracellular calcium mobilization primes dendritic oxytocin for later release, altering neuronal communication.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Neuroendocrinology
Background:
- Neuronal information typically flows from dendrites to axons.
- Dendrites can also secrete signaling molecules, influencing afferent neurons.
- Oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus play crucial roles in social behavior and physiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct secretory roles of hypothalamic oxytocin neuron dendrites and axons.
- To determine how intracellular calcium mobilization and electrical activity differentially regulate oxytocin release.
- To explore the concept of dendritic oxytocin priming and its functional implications.
Main Methods:
- Utilized agents to mobilize intracellular calcium (Ca2+) in hypothalamic oxytocin neurons.
- Measured oxytocin release from both dendritic and nerve terminal compartments.
- Assessed changes in cell body electrical activity.
- Investigated the priming effect of calcium mobilization on subsequent electrical activity-induced release.
Main Results:
- Intracellular calcium mobilization induced oxytocin release from dendrites, independent of cell body electrical activity or nerve terminal secretion.
- Cell body electrical activity primarily triggered oxytocin release from nerve terminals, with minimal dendritic release.
- Calcium mobilization primed dendritic oxytocin, making it available for release by subsequent electrical activity.
Conclusions:
- Hypothalamic oxytocin neurons exhibit compartmentalized secretion, with distinct mechanisms governing dendritic and axonal release.
- Dendritic oxytocin release can be regulated independently of somatic electrical activity via intracellular calcium.
- Dendritic oxytocin priming represents a novel mechanism that enhances neuronal communication and plasticity.
Related Concept Videos
01:19The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
3.2K
A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
3.2K
01:26Chemical Synapses
9.5K
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...
9.5K
01:27Feedback Regulation of Calcium Concentration
2.9K
Calcium is an essential signaling molecule required for various cellular functions. Calcium pumps and ion channels on cell and organellar membranes, such as those on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), regulate calcium concentrations inside the cell. They remain closed, keeping the cytosolic calcium levels low at a resting state.
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
Various transmembrane receptors, such as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), elicit a response to extracellular signals by increasing cytosolic calcium. Activated GPCRs...
2.9K
01:16Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
5.0K
Calmodulin (CaM) is a calcium-binding protein in eukaryotes that controls various calcium-regulated cellular processes. It has four calcium-binding sites that bind calcium to form the calcium-calmodulin ( Ca2+-CaM) complex. GPCR stimulation increases the calcium levels in the cells that bind to CaM and induces a conformational change.
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
5.0K
01:30Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
4.6K
Ligand-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that play a vital role in intercellular communication and functions of the nervous system. They allow the influx of ions across the membrane once the neurotransmitter binds, allowing the subsequent transmission of electrical excitation across the neurons. Other ligand-gated ion channels, like the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, permit anions like chloride into the cells on the binding of the GABA molecule. Their entry into the cell...
4.6K
01:26Chemical Synapses
10.9K
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...
10.9K