The architecture of active zone material at the frog's neuromuscular junction
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.
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Neuromuscular junctions contain elongated active zones to which synaptic vesicles are attached like pearls on a string.
“Different from the disc-shaped active zones of central synapses, neuromuscular junctions contain elongated active zones to which synaptic vesicles are attached like pearls on a string (Harlow et al., 2001).”
From The Presynaptic Active Zone (2012) · cites this paper as Harlow et al., 2001
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- Authors
- Harlow, M. L., Ress, D., Stoschek, A., Marshall, R. M., & McMahan, U. J.
- Affiliations
- Stanford Medicine (US)
- Corresponding author
- McMahan, Uel J.
- ORCID
- Ress, David
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2001-01
- Volume
- 409
- Issue
- 6819
- Pages
- 479-484
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2149394947
- Cited by
- 388
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 9.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular transport and secretion
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Structural Biology › Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- active zone, neuromuscular junction, synaptic vesicle docking, calcium channels, presynaptic plasma membrane, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter exocytosis, synaptic vesicle fusion, frogs
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Image Enhancement, Membrane Proteins, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Neuromuscular Junction, Rana pipiens, Synaptic Membranes, Synaptic Vesicles, Calcium Channels, Organelles, Presynaptic Terminals
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