Miniseries: Illustrating the Machinery of Life Neuromuscular Synapse*
نویسنده
چکیده
Diverse biological data may be used to create illustrations of molecules in their cellular context. I describe the scientific results that support a recent textbook illustration of the neuromuscular synapse. The image magnifies a portion of the synapse at one million times, showing the location and the form of individual macromolecules. Results from biochemistry, electron microscopy, and X-ray crystallography were used to create the image.
منابع مشابه
Central synapse and neuromuscular junction: same players, different roles.
The central synapse in the brain and the neuromuscular synapse between motor neuron and muscle fiber are structurally and functionally distinct. Recent studies, however, have identified the localization and potential functions of signaling molecules common to both types of synapse. Strikingly, many of these molecules also have important roles in axon guidance and neurite outgrowth. Among these ...
متن کاملPostsynaptic Assembly: A Role for Wnt Signaling
Synapse formation requires the coordinated formation of the presynaptic terminal, containing the machinery for neurotransmitter release, and the postsynaptic side that possesses the machinery for neurotransmitter reception. For coordinated pre- and postsynaptic assembly signals across the synapse are required. Wnt secreted proteins are well-known synaptogenic factors that promote the recruitmen...
متن کاملThe postsynaptic submembrane machinery at the neuromuscular junction: requirement for rapsyn and the utrophin/dystrophin-associated complex.
Neuromuscular synapse formation is brought about by a complex bi-directional exchange of information between the innervating motor neuron and its target skeletal muscle fiber. Agrin, a heparin sulfate proteoglycan, is released from the motor nerve terminal to activate its muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) receptor that leads to a second messenger cascade requiring rapsyn to ultimately bring about A...
متن کاملAberrant morphology and residual transmitter release at the Munc13-deficient mouse neuromuscular synapse.
In cultured hippocampal neurons, synaptogenesis is largely independent of synaptic transmission, while several accounts in the literature indicate that synaptogenesis at cholinergic neuromuscular junctions in mammals appears to partially depend on synaptic activity. To systematically examine the role of synaptic activity in synaptogenesis at the neuromuscular junction, we investigated neuromusc...
متن کاملRole of Glia in Sculpting Synaptic Connections at the Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction: A Dissertation
Emerging evidence in both vertebrates and invertebrates is redefining glia as active players in the development and integrity of the nervous system. The formation of functional neuronal circuits requires the precise addition of new synapses. Mounting evidence implicates glial function in synapse remodeling and formation. However, the precise molecular mechanisms governing these functions are po...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2009