Brain Mind Institute, EPFL - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA.
Nat Commun. 2021 Jul 20;12(1):4399. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24490-1.
The decline of neuronal synapses is an established feature of ageing accompanied by the diminishment of neuronal function, and in the motor system at least, a reduction of behavioural capacity. Here, we have investigated Drosophila motor neuron synaptic terminals during ageing. We observed cumulative fragmentation of presynaptic structures accompanied by diminishment of both evoked and miniature neurotransmission occurring in tandem with reduced motor ability. Through discrete manipulation of each neurotransmission modality, we find that miniature but not evoked neurotransmission is required to maintain presynaptic architecture and that increasing miniature events can both preserve synaptic structures and prolong motor ability during ageing. Our results establish that miniature neurotransmission, formerly viewed as an epiphenomenon, is necessary for the long-term stability of synaptic connections.
神经元突触的衰退是衰老的一个既定特征，伴随着神经元功能的减弱，至少在运动系统中，行为能力也会下降。在这里，我们研究了果蝇运动神经元突触末梢在衰老过程中的情况。我们观察到，随着运动能力的下降，与预先存在的结构的累积性碎片化相伴的是诱发和微小神经传递的减弱。通过对每种神经传递方式的离散操作，我们发现只有微小神经传递而不是诱发神经传递对于维持突触结构是必需的，并且增加微小事件既可以保持突触结构，又可以延长衰老过程中的运动能力。我们的结果表明，微小神经传递，以前被认为是一种附带现象，对于突触连接的长期稳定性是必需的。
