How does calcium trigger neurotransmitter release?
Recent work has established that different geometric arrangements of calcium channels are found at different presynaptic terminals, leading to a wide spectrum of calcium signals for triggering neurotransmitter release. These calcium signals are apparently transduced by synaptotagmins - calcium-binding proteins found in synaptic vesicles. New biochemical results indicate that all synaptotagmins undergo calcium-dependent interactions with membrane lipids and a number of other presynaptic proteins, but which of these interactions is responsible for calcium-triggered transmitter release remains unclear.
Augustine
G J
GJ
Department of Neurobiology, Box 3209, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. georgea@neuro.duke.edu
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D017136:Ion Transport; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000502:physiology; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000502:physiology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D017661:Receptors, Presynaptic / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000502:physiology; D050857:Synaptotagmins
D015220:Calcium Channels; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D017661:Receptors, Presynaptic; D050857:Synaptotagmins; D002118:Calcium