Here, we demonstrate that the BMP receptor Wishful Thinking (Wit) is required for synapse stabilization. In the absence of BMP signaling, synapse disassembly and retraction ensue. Remarkably, downstream Smad-mediated signaling cannot fully account for the stabilizing activity of the BMP receptor. We identify LIM Kinase1 (DLIMK1)-dependent signaling as a second, parallel pathway that confers the...

T cell receptor (TCR) engagement opens Ca(2+) release-activated Ca(2+) (CRAC) channels and triggers formation of an immune synapse between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. At the synapse, actin reorganizes into a concentric lamellipod and lamella with retrograde actin flow that helps regulate the intensity and duration of TCR signaling. We find that Ca(2+) influx is required to drive actin...

The calyx of Held synapse of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body functions as a relay synapse in the auditory brainstem. In vivo recordings have shown that this synapse displays low release probability and that the average size of synaptic potentials does not depend on recent history. We used a ventral approach to make in vivo extracellular recordings from the calyx of Held synapse in rats...

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected T cells form a virological synapse with noninfected CD4(+) T cells in order to efficiently transfer HIV-1 virions from cell to cell. The virological synapse is a specialized cellular junction that is similar in some respects to the immunological synapse involved in T-cell activation and effector functions mediated by the T-cell antigen recept...

Postsynaptic neuroligins are thought to perform essential functions in synapse validation and synaptic transmission by binding to, and dimerizing, presynaptic alpha- and beta-neurexins. To test this hypothesis, we examined the functional effects of neuroligin-1 mutations that impair only alpha-neurexin binding, block both alpha- and beta-neurexin binding, or abolish neuroligin-1 dimerization. A...

Traditionally, the calyx of Held synapse is viewed as a highly reliable relay in the sound localization circuit of the auditory brainstem, with every presynaptic action potential triggering a postsynaptic action potential in vivo. However, this view is at odds with slice recordings that report large short-term depression (STD). To investigate the reliability and precision of this synapse, we co...

During development, mammalian neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) transit from multiple-innervation to single-innervation through axonal competition via unknown molecular mechanisms. Previously, using an in vitro model system, we demonstrated that the postsynaptic secretion of pro-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF) stabilizes or eliminates presynaptic axon terminals, depending on its proteo...

Human T-lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) spreads efficiently between T-cells via a tight and highly organized cell-cell contact known as the virological synapse. It is now thought that many retroviruses and other viruses spread via a virological synapse, which may be defined as a virus-induced, specialized area of cell-to-cell contact that promotes the directed transmission of the virus between ce...

For hardware artificial intelligence, the central task is to design and develop synapses with needed characteristics. Here, experimental demonstration of a van der Waals (vdW) photo-ferroelectric synapse are reported. In synapse, synaptic memory extracted by reading photocurrent, written or edited electrical pulses. The semiconducting vdW organic-inorganic halide perovskite ((R)-(–)-1-cyclohexy...

Psoriasis is a polygenic hereditary chronic inflammatory systemic disease mediated by T cells and dendritic cells. At present, the research on psoriasis mostly focuses immunological mechanism, few studies focus role of neural mediators in development disease. Studies have confirmed existence molecular "dialogue" between nerve fibers keratinocytes. Our previous study also found that protrusions ...