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Related Concept Videos

Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

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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...
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Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
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When an action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal, it releases neurotransmitters from the neuron into the synaptic cleft at a chemical synapse. The released neurotransmitter can be excitatory or inhibitory. The critical criteria commonly used to determine whether a molecule is a neurotransmitter at a chemical synapse are the molecule's presence in the presynaptic neuron. Second, its release is in response to strong presynaptic depolarization. And lastly, the presence of...
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Clathrin Coated Vesicles01:12

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Clathrin-coated vesicles use endocytosis to transport receptors and lysosomal hydrolases from the Golgi to the lysosome in the late secretory pathway. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was the first described endocytic process, and Clathrin-coated vesicles remain one of the most well-studied transport vesicles. The molecular machinery that generates clathrin-coated vesicles comprises over 50 proteins that precisely coordinate vesicle formation. Cell surface receptors concentrated in indented sites...
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Neurochemical transmission, the conduction of electrical impulses between neurons mediated by neurotransmitters, plays a vital role in various physiological processes. Autonomic drugs exert their effects by modulating neurotransmission within the autonomic nervous system. For instance, drugs such as hemicholinium block the precursor uptake necessary for synthesizing acetylcholine, an essential autonomic neurotransmitter. Following synthesis, neurotransmitters are stored in vesicles. Metyrosine...
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Tachyphylaxis is described as a rapid decrease in response to a drug after repeated or continuous administration of the same drug dose. It is a phenomenon where the body becomes less responsive to a particular substance or intervention over time, requiring higher doses or stronger interventions to achieve the same effect. It results from adaptive changes in the body's receptors, signaling pathways, or physiological processes that occur in response to prolonged exposure to a stimulus.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Preparation of Synaptic Plasma Membrane and Postsynaptic Density Proteins Using a Discontinuous Sucrose Gradient
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Presynaptic clathrin levels are a limiting factor for synaptic transmission.

Francisco J López-Murcia1, Stephen J Royle2, Artur Llobet3

  • 1Laboratory of Neurobiology, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), and Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, 08907 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain, and.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|June 21, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Neuronal communication relies on efficient synaptic vesicle recycling. This study reveals that clathrin levels dynamically regulate synaptic function and short-term plasticity by influencing vesicle pools and size during stimulation.

Keywords:
clathrinendocytosispresynapticshort-term depressionsynaptic vesiclesynaptic vesicle pools

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Neurons require efficient synaptic vesicle recycling for communication.
  • Clathrin-mediated endocytosis is crucial for this recycling process.
  • The impact of clathrin dynamics on presynaptic function is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dynamic regulation of clathrin levels in presynaptic terminals.
  • To determine the functional consequences of altered clathrin levels on synaptic transmission.
  • To explore the relationship between clathrin availability and short-term plasticity.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized RNA interference (RNAi) to knock down clathrin heavy chain in cultured neurons.
  • Performed correlative functional and morphological experiments on cholinergic autapses.
  • Assessed synaptic transmission, vesicle pools, quantal size, and vesicle morphology.

Main Results:

  • Clathrin levels decrease in presynaptic terminals during stimulation, dependent on stimulus strength and release probability.
  • A 20% reduction in clathrin impairs synaptic transmission by reducing vesicle pools and quantal size.
  • Exogenous clathrin addition rescued RNAi-induced synaptic depression.
  • Synaptic vesicle size decreased, but large dense-core vesicles remained unaffected.

Conclusions:

  • Clathrin levels are a dynamic feature of presynaptic terminals, not a fixed quantity.
  • Dynamic clathrin availability influences synaptic vesicle recycling and short-term plasticity.
  • Stimulus-dependent regulation of clathrin impacts presynaptic terminal function.