Ultrastructure of the synaptic junctional lattice isolated from mammalian brain

Abstract

Synaptic membranes can be treated with detergents to yield postsynaptic densities from which the lipid unit membrane has been removed. The ultrastructure of these densities is identical to that of the synaptic lattice observed in undigested synaptic membranes; a 1000–3000 Å diameter planar array of 200 Å diameter dense-staining subunits. The persistence of this synaptic lattice in the absence of lipid membrane may reflect a functional role in the maintenance of defined synaptic junctional structures in intact tissue.