Zinc Regulates Chemical-Transmitter Storage in Nanometer Vesicles and Exocytosis Dynamics as Measured by Amperometry.
We applied electrochemical techniques with nano-tip electrodes to show that micromolar concentrations of zinc not only trigger changes in the dynamics of exocytosis, but also vesicle content in a model cell line. The vesicle catecholamine content in PC12 cells is significantly decreased after 100 μm zinc treatment, but, catecholamine release during exocytosis remains nearly the same. This contrasts with the number of molecules stored in the exocytosis vesicles, which decreases, and we find that the amount of catecholamine released from zinc-treated cells reaches nearly 100 % content expelled. Further investigation shows that zinc slows down exocytotic release. Our results provide the missing link between zinc and the regulation of neurotransmitter release processes, which might be important in memory formation and storage.
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lin
L
Ren
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.|National Center for Imaging Mass Spectrometry, Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Masoumeh Dowlatshahi
MD
Pour
Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Soodabeh
S
Majdi
Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Xianchan
X
Li
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.|National Center for Imaging Mass Spectrometry, Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Per
0000-0002-6487-7851
P
Malmberg
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.|National Center for Imaging Mass Spectrometry, Chalmers University of Technology and Gothenburg University, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Kemivägen 10, 412 96, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Andrew G
0000-0002-2084-0133
AG
Ewing
amperometry; cytometry; exocytosis; vesicle content; zinc