An exciting release on TRPM7.
Following fusion, synaptic vesicles do not always release all of their neurotransmitter. According to one model, neurotransmitters bind to a charged matrix within secretory vesicles, and release requires entry of counterions. In the current issue of Neuron, Krapivinsky et al. demonstrate that TRPM7 is localized to synaptic vesicles and is required for release of the positively charged neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The results raise the possibility that TRPM7 is the enigmatic channel that supplies counterions for neurotransmitter release.
Montell
Craig
C
Department of Biological Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
D000818:Animals; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism; D050053:TRPM Cation Channels / Q000502:physiology*
D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D050053:TRPM Cation Channels; C486584:Trpm7 protein, rat