The architecture of active zone material at the frog's neuromuscular junction
- 1 January 2001
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Nature
- Vol. 409 (6819), 479-484
- https://doi.org/10.1038/35054000
Abstract
Active zone material at the nervous system's synapses is situated next to synaptic vesicles that are docked at the presynaptic plasma membrane, and calcium channels that are anchored in the membrane. Here we use electron microscope tomography to show the arrangement and associations of structural components of this compact organelle at a model synapse, the frog's neuromuscular junction. Our findings indicate that the active zone material helps to dock the vesicles and anchor the channels, and that its architecture provides both a particular spatial relationship and a structural linkage between them. The structural linkage may include proteins that mediate the calcium-triggered exocytosis of neurotransmitter by the synaptic vesicles during synaptic transmission.Keywords
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