The architecture of active zone material at the frog's neuromuscular junction

Mark L. Harlow, David Ress, Arne Stoschek, Robert M. Marshall and Uel J. McMahan ()
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Mark L. Harlow: Stanford University School of Medicine
David Ress: Stanford University School of Medicine
Arne Stoschek: Stanford University School of Medicine
Robert M. Marshall: Stanford University School of Medicine
Uel J. McMahan: Stanford University School of Medicine

Nature, 2001, vol. 409, issue 6819, 479-484

Abstract: Abstract Active zone material at the nervous system's synapses is situated next to synaptic vesicles that are docked at the presynaptic plasma membrane, and calcium channels that are anchored in the membrane. Here we use electron microscope tomography to show the arrangement and associations of structural components of this compact organelle at a model synapse, the frog's neuromuscular junction. Our findings indicate that the active zone material helps to dock the vesicles and anchor the channels, and that its architecture provides both a particular spatial relationship and a structural linkage between them. The structural linkage may include proteins that mediate the calcium-triggered exocytosis of neurotransmitter by the synaptic vesicles during synaptic transmission.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/35054000

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