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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Designing Porous Silicon Films as Carriers of Nerve Growth Factor
Published on: January 25, 2019
Physical mobilization of secretory vesicles facilitates neuropeptide release by nerve growth factor-differentiated
Yuen-Keng Ng1, Xinghua Lu, Edwin S Levitan
1Department of Pharmacology, E1351 Biomedical Science Tower, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
Abstract:
It has been speculated that neurosecretion can be enhanced by increasing the motion, and hence, the availability of cytoplasmic secretory vesicles. However, facilitator-induced physical mobilization of secretory vesicles has not been observed directly in living cells, and recent experimental results call this hypothesis into question. Here, high resolution green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based measurements in nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells are used to test whether altering dense core vesicle (DCV) motion affects neuropeptide release. Experiments with mycalolide B and jasplakinolide demonstrate that neuropeptidergic DCV motion at the ends of processes is proportional to F-actin. Furthermore, Ba2+ increases DCV mobility without detectably modifying F-actin. Finally, we show that altering DCV motion by changing F-actin or stimulating with Ba2+ proportionally changes sustained neuropeptide release. Therefore, increasing DCV mobility facilitates prolonged neuropeptide release.
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