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Bassoon speeds vesicle reloading at a central excitatory synapse
Stefan Hallermann1, Anna Fejtova, Hartmut Schmidt
1Carl Ludwig Institute of Physiology, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 27, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. hallermann@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
Neuron
|November 25, 2010
Summary
The active zone protein Bassoon speeds vesicle reloading at central synapses. Bassoon knockout mice show enhanced short-term depression due to slower vesicle recycling, impacting high-frequency signaling.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Synaptic transmission
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Sensory modalities utilize rate-coded signals.
- Specialized ribbon structures at some synapses enable high-frequency signaling.
- Central synapses, lacking ribbons, also achieve wide-bandwidth signaling.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the role of the active zone protein Bassoon.
- Analyze its function in cerebellar mossy fiber to granule cell synapses.
- Elucidate molecular mechanisms of high-frequency signaling at central synapses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Bassoon knockout mouse models.
- Performed sustained high-frequency stimulation trains.
- Conducted fluctuation and quantal analysis.
- Applied constrained short-term plasticity models.
Main Results:
- Bassoon knockout enhanced short-term synaptic depression during high-frequency stimulation.
- Basal synaptic transmission remained unaffected in knockout mice.
- Vesicle reloading rate was reduced by half in the absence of Bassoon.
Conclusions:
- The cytomatrix protein Bassoon accelerates vesicle reloading at release sites.
- Bassoon is crucial for maintaining high-frequency signaling at central excitatory synapses.
- This finding sheds light on the molecular machinery supporting rapid synaptic communication.
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