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Updated: Aug 22, 2025

Levator Auris Longus Preparation for Examination of Mammalian Neuromuscular Transmission Under Voltage Clamp Conditions
Published on: May 5, 2018
Distribution of proteins for synaptic release in nerve endings associated with the trachealis muscle of rats
Hisae Moriai1, Takuya Yokoyama2, Sayed Sharif Abdali1
1Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka, Japan.
Abstract:
The immunohistochemical localization of proteins for synaptic release was examined in smooth muscle-associated sensory nerve endings using whole-mount preparations of the rat trachea. Plant-like smooth muscle-associated nerve endings with immunoreactivity for Na+-K+-ATPase, α3-subunit were identified in the trachealis muscle. VGLUT1, synapsin1, t-SNARE proteins (SNAP25 and syntaxin1), v-SNARE proteins (VAMP1 and VAMP2), and a presynaptic active zone-related protein (piccolo) were detected in the terminal parts of these endings. These results suggest that smooth muscle-associated nerve endings secrete glutamate to modulate sensorimotor functions in the lung deflation reflex.
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