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Related Concept Videos

Vesicular Tubular Clusters01:45

Vesicular 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...
Rab Cascades01:25

Rab Cascades

Rab GTPases act in a regulated cascade during membrane fusion, helping the lipid bilayers mix. The Rab family of proteins are active when bound to GTP, and inactive when bound to GDP. Hence, they act as guanine nucleotide-dependent molecular switches. Rab-GTP recognizes and binds to long or short-range tethering proteins to capture the target vesicle. These tethers coordinate with SNAREs on the vesicle and the target membrane to assemble the trans SNARE complex that locks the mixing bilayers.
Transport Across the Golgi01:26

Transport Across the Golgi

While it is unclear how molecules move between adjacent Golgi cisternae, it is apparent that the molecules move from cis- cisterna, the entry face, to the trans- cisterna, the exit face. Experiments initially suggested vesicles that bud from one cisterna and fuse with the next cisterna to transport proteins between the cisternae. This vesicular transport model describes the Golgi apparatus as a relatively static structure with a unique enzyme composition in each cisterna. Molecules are...
Rab Proteins01:14

Rab Proteins

Rab proteins constitute the largest family of monomeric GTPases, of which 70 members are present in humans. Rab proteins and their effectors regulate consecutive stages of vesicle transport such as vesicle transport, docking, and fusion to the correct recipient membrane.
Rab proteins switch between a cytosolic, GDP-bound inactive state and a membrane-anchored, GTP-bound active state. By themselves, Rabs show slow rates of GDP/GTP exchange and GTP hydrolysis. Thus, Rab proteins are considered...
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane01:26

Fusion 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...
Overview of Secretory Vesicles01:33

Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Quantifying the Heterogeneous Distribution of a Synaptic Protein in the Mouse Brain Using Immunofluorescence
09:18

Quantifying the Heterogeneous Distribution of a Synaptic Protein in the Mouse Brain Using Immunofluorescence

Published on: January 29, 2019

GABA vesicles at synapses: are there 2 distinct pools?

John J Hablitz1, Seena S Mathew, Lucas Pozzo-Miller

  • 1Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. jhablitz@uab.edu

The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal Bringing Neurobiology, Neurology and Psychiatry
|May 14, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Fast synaptic inhibition relies on GABA, but distinct vesicle pools exist. Spontaneously active inhibitory synapses utilize a "reluctant" pool, separate from vesicles released by stimulation, impacting neocortical function.

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Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
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Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors

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Quantitative Analysis of Synaptic Vesicle Pool Replenishment in Cultured Cerebellar Granule Neurons using FM Dyes
09:02

Quantitative Analysis of Synaptic Vesicle Pool Replenishment in Cultured Cerebellar Granule Neurons using FM Dyes

Published on: November 11, 2011

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Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Quantifying the Heterogeneous Distribution of a Synaptic Protein in the Mouse Brain Using Immunofluorescence
09:18

Quantifying the Heterogeneous Distribution of a Synaptic Protein in the Mouse Brain Using Immunofluorescence

Published on: January 29, 2019

Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
07:51

Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors

Published on: November 14, 2014

Quantitative Analysis of Synaptic Vesicle Pool Replenishment in Cultured Cerebellar Granule Neurons using FM Dyes
09:02

Quantitative Analysis of Synaptic Vesicle Pool Replenishment in Cultured Cerebellar Granule Neurons using FM Dyes

Published on: November 11, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Synaptic Plasticity
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Fast synaptic inhibition in the neocortex is primarily mediated by GABA acting on GABA(A) receptors.
  • Neurotransmitters like GABA are stored in synaptic vesicles at presynaptic terminals.
  • A prevailing assumption was that both evoked and spontaneous neurotransmission utilize the same vesicle pools.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evidence regarding the existence of distinct GABA vesicle pools at inhibitory synapses.
  • To challenge the assumption of a single vesicle pool for neurotransmission.
  • To explore the functional implications of multiple vesicle pools in neocortical inhibition.

Main Methods:

  • Review of studies utilizing the FM1-43 dye uptake method.
  • Analysis of vesicle loading and release dynamics under different stimulation conditions (electrical stimulation, hyperkalemic solutions, spontaneous activity).

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests at least two distinct pools of GABA vesicles in rat neocortical inhibitory synapses.
  • Spontaneous vesicle endocytosis labels a "reluctant" pool released more slowly than vesicles loaded via stimulation.
  • Stimulation-loaded vesicles are released more rapidly than those from spontaneous activity.

Conclusions:

  • The existence of multiple GABA vesicle pools (e.g., "reluctant" and readily releasable) is supported by FM1-43 studies.
  • These distinct pools may mediate diverse roles in synaptic plasticity, including long-term depression/potentiation.
  • Multiple pools could be crucial for homeostatic plasticity and developmental regulation of inhibitory synaptic transmission.