... imaging with quantitative electron-density contrast. Here, we imaged, at cryogenic temperature and without sectioning, cellular and subcellular structures of a chemically fixed and stained wild-type mouse retina, including axons and synapses, with complete isotropic 3D information over tens of microns...

... remains elusive. One of these enzymes, Zdhhc5, has previously been shown to regulate synapse plasticity. Here, we report that Zdhhc5 is also essential for the formation of excitatory, but not inhibitory, synapses both in vitro and in vivo . We demonstrate in vitro that this is dependent on the enzymatic...

... regulated by secreted glycan-binding lectins. Using the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) as a model glutamatergic synapse, we identify a new Ca 2+ -binding (C-type) lectin, Lectin-galC1 (LGC1), which modulates presynaptic function and neurotransmission strength. We find that LGC1 is enriched...

... zone membranes control information transfer at synapses. For scaffold biogenesis and maintenance, scaffold components must be safely transported along axons. A spectrum of kinases has been suggested to control transport of scaffold components, but direct kinase–substrate relationships and operational...

... mechanisms by which βPix controls spine morphology remain elusive. Previously, we have reported the expression of several alternative spliced βPix isoforms in the brain. Here, we report a novel finding that the b isoform of βPix (βPix-b) mediates the regulation of spine and synapse formation. We found...

... and homeostatic upscaling of GluK2-containing KARs. Synapse Kainate receptor AMPA receptor GluK2 GluA2 ADAR2 mRNA editing Homeostatic plasticity Scaling Kainate receptors (KARs) are glutamate receptors comprising tetrameric assemblies of combinations of five receptor subunits, GluK1–GluK5...

... in living neurons. GABA type A receptor Fluorogen-activating peptide Pharmacology Synapse Trafficking γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors (GABA A Rs) are ligand-gated ionotropic Cl − channels responsible for most fast inhibitory neurotransmission in the adult central nervous...

... stores of cholesterol esters and stabilised Aβ-PrP C complexes, resulting in activated cPLA 2 . Conversely, cholesterol esterification reduced cholesterol concentrations causing the dispersal of Aβ-PrP C complexes. In cultured neurons, the cholesterol ester cycle regulated Aβ-induced synapse damage...

...Jacob A. Ross; Richard G. Webster; Tanguy Lechertier; Louise E. Reynolds; Mark Turmaine; Maximilien Bencze; Yalda Jamshidi; Hakan Cetin; Francesco Muntoni; David Beeson; Kairbaan Hodilvala-Dilke; Francesco J. Conti ABSTRACT The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is the synapse between motoneurons...

... it contributes to the vulnerability of synapses to degeneration. However, the downstream mechanisms through which α-synuclein controls synaptic stability and degeneration are not fully understood. Here, comparative proteomics on synapses isolated from α-synuclein −/− mouse brain identified mitochondrial proteins...

...Nicholas Harden; Simon Ji Hau Wang; Charles Krieger ABSTRACT The pleated septate junction (pSJ), an ancient structure for cell–cell contact in invertebrate epithelia, has protein components that are found in three more-recent junctional structures, the neuronal synapse, the paranodal region...

.... Consistent with this, LILRA3 significantly reversed Nogo-66-mediated inhibition of neurite outgrowth and promoted synapse formation in primary cortical neurons through regulation of the ERK/MEK pathway. LILRA3 represents a new antagonist to Nogo-66-mediated inhibition of neurite outgrowth in the CNS...

... organised network of membranes and mitochondria encompassing the infranuclear region of the cell. This network is juxtaposed to a population of small vesicles, which represents a potential new source of neurotransmitter vesicles for replenishment of the synapses. Structural linkages between organelles...

...Luciana Luchelli; María Gabriela Thomas; Graciela L. Boccaccio Repression of mRNA translation is linked to the formation of specific cytosolic foci such as stress granules and processing bodies, which store or degrade mRNAs. In neurons, synaptic activity regulates translation at the post‐synapse...

... (homolog of the mammalian NCS-1, neural calcium sensor) is involved in pathologies that result from abnormal synapse number and probability of neurotransmitter release per synapse. Both synaptic features are likely to be co-regulated but the intervening mechanisms remain poorly understood. We show here...

... of clathrin-mediated endocytosis ( Cao et al., 1998 ; Cook et al., 1996 ; Ferguson et al., 2007 ; Raimondi et al., 2011 ). However, their expression patterns are very different. Dynamin 1 is expressed selectively and at very high levels in neurons, where it is crucially required for synapses to efficiently...

... and synapses in hippocampal neurons. FL-Myo10 induces formation of dendritic filopodia and modulates filopodia dynamics by trafficking the actin-binding protein vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) to the tips of filopodia. By contrast, Hdl-Myo10 acts on dendritic spines to enhance spine and synaptic...

... Drosophila melanogaster SNARE Neuroexocytosis Synapse One of the best regulated physiological processes is the conversion of the electrical signals travelling along the nerve axon into chemical signals at the axon terminals in the form of neurotransmitters released in the intersynaptic space...

.... For immunolabeled neurons, we used a customized Plugin in ImageJ that provided automatic measurements of puncta number (per unit area) and size with identical threshold settings. We reasoned that counting puncta number per unit area instead of per unit length was appropriate because some synapses were located...

...Sheila Jordán-Álvarez; Wernher Fouquet; Stephan J. Sigrist; Angel Acebes Summary Synapse transmission depends on the precise structural and functional assembly between pre- and postsynaptic elements. This tightly regulated interaction has been thoroughly characterised in vivo in the Drosophila...