Institute of Anatomy and Embryology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August University of Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.
Emeritus Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany;
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Jan 19;118(3). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2022551118.
Neurotransmitter release occurs by regulated exocytosis from synaptic vesicles (SVs). Evolutionarily conserved proteins mediate the essential aspects of this process, including the membrane fusion step and priming steps that make SVs release-competent. Unlike the proteins constituting the core fusion machinery, the SV protein Mover does not occur in all species and all synapses. Its restricted expression suggests that Mover may modulate basic aspects of transmitter release and short-term plasticity. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed synaptic transmission electrophysiologically at the mouse calyx of Held synapse in slices obtained from wild-type mice and mice lacking Mover. Spontaneous transmission was unaffected, indicating that the basic release machinery works in the absence of Mover. Evoked release and vesicular release probability were slightly reduced, and the paired pulse ratio was increased in Mover knockout mice. To explore whether Mover's role is restricted to certain subpools of SVs, we analyzed our data in terms of two models of priming. A model assuming two SV pools in parallel showed a reduced release probability of so-called "superprimed vesicles" while "normally primed" ones were unaffected. For the second model, which holds that vesicles transit sequentially from a loosely docked state to a tightly docked state before exocytosis, we found that knocking out Mover selectively decreased the release probability of tight state vesicles. These results indicate that Mover regulates a subclass of primed SVs in the mouse calyx of Held.
神经递质的释放是通过突触小泡(SVs)的受调控胞吐作用实现的。进化上保守的蛋白质介导了这个过程的基本方面,包括膜融合步骤和使 SV 具有释放能力的引发步骤。与构成核心融合机制的蛋白质不同,SV 蛋白 Mover 并非在所有物种和所有突触中都存在。其受限的表达表明 Mover 可能调节递质释放和短期可塑性的基本方面。为了验证这一假设,我们在从野生型小鼠和缺乏 Mover 的小鼠获得的切片中用电生理方法分析了小鼠 calyx of Held 突触的突触传递。自发传递不受影响,表明在没有 Mover 的情况下基本释放机制起作用。诱发释放和囊泡释放概率略有降低,而成对脉冲比在 Mover 敲除小鼠中增加。为了探究 Mover 的作用是否仅限于 SVs 的某些亚池,我们根据两种引发模型来分析我们的数据。一个假设存在两个平行 SV 池的模型显示所谓的“超引发囊泡”的释放概率降低,而“正常引发”囊泡不受影响。对于第二个模型,即认为囊泡在胞吐作用之前依次从松散停靠状态过渡到紧密停靠状态,我们发现敲除 Mover 选择性地降低了紧密状态囊泡的释放概率。这些结果表明,Mover 调节了小鼠 calyx of Held 中受调控的 SV 亚类。