Biophysical and Biochemical Mechanisms in Synaptic Transmitter Release

Download or read book Biophysical and Biochemical Mechanisms in Synaptic Transmitter Release written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The project on synaptic transmission in the squid giant synapse was supported from years 1989 to 1994, and was discontinued due to a drastic reduction of funding to this branch of the Air Force Biological Research Program. Over the period of its tenure many fundamental discoveries were reported from the work supported by this grant. Among them (1) The discovery of P type calcium channels as the main trigger for transmitter release in invertebrates and vertebrate synapses, to include mammalian forms; (2) The first demonstration of calcium microdomains in presynaptic terminals and their role in synaptic transmitter release. In addition, measurements were also done of the maximum concentration attained at these microdomains and the time course for the calcium concentration profile; (3) The mechanisms by which botulinum and tetanus toxin block synaptic release; (4) Finally, the role of high inositol phosphate moieties in synaptic release were also studied.