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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Vibrodissociation of Neurons from Rodent Brain Slices to Study Synaptic Transmission and Image Presynaptic Terminals
Published on: May 25, 2011
Paracrine intercellular communication by a Ca2+- and SNARE-independent release of GABA and glutamate prior to synapse
Michael Demarque1, Alfonso Represa, Hélène Becq
1Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditérranée, INMED, Institut de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM U29, Parc Scientifique de Luminy, BP13, 13273 09, Marseille cedex, France.
Abstract:
GABA and glutamate receptors are expressed in immature "silent" CA1 pyramidal neurons prior to synapse formation, but their function is unknown. We now report the presence of tonic, spontaneous, and evoked currents in embryonic and neonatal CA1 neurons mediated primarily by the activation of GABA(A) receptors. These currents are mediated by a nonconventional release of transmitters, as they persist in the presence of calcium channel blockers or botulinium toxin and are observed in Munc18-1-deficient mice in which vesicular release is abolished. This paracrine communication is modulated by glutamate but not GABA transporters, which do not operate during this period of life. Thus, a Ca(2+)- and SNARE-independent release of transmitters underlies a paracrine mode of communication before synapse formation.
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