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A neuron, when activated, propagates an electrical signal. But that signal cannot cross the synapse — the junction between two neurons. So, communication from one neuron to the next is accomplished by the release of tiny membrane capsules containing signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters across the synapse.
The electrical signal triggers these capsules, called vesicles, to fuse with membrane at the neuron’s pre-synaptic terminal, thereby releasing neurotransmitters into the cleft between the two cells. The neurotransmitters travel across the cleft, then activate receptors in the post-synaptic neuron, triggering an electrical signal in that next cell.
Because the neurotransmitter signal goes in one direction — from the pre-synaptic neuron to the post-synaptic one — vesicles must be re-formed for the process to continue. “Recycling is a critical process to keep synapses functional,” explains Professor Takahashi, leader of the Cellular & Molecular Synaptic Function Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). In a study recently published in Cell Reports, Takahashi and his colleagues shed light on a poorly-understood part of vesicle recycling.
Via Miloš Bajčetić
