The reserve pool of synaptic vesicles acts as a buffer for proteins involved in synaptic vesicle recycling.

ABSTRACT: Presynaptic nerve terminals contain between several hundred vesicles (for example in small CNS synapses) and several tens of thousands (as in neuromuscular junctions). Although it has long been assumed that such high numbers of vesicles are required to sustain neurotransmission during conditions of high demand, we found that activity in vivo requires the recycling of only a few percent of the vesicles. However, the maintenance of large amounts of reserve vesicles in many evolutionarily distinct species suggests that they are relevant for synaptic function. We suggest here that these vesicles constitute buffers for soluble accessory proteins involved in vesicle recycling, preventing their loss into the axon. Supporting this hypothesis, we found that vesicle clusters contain a large variety

SUBMITTER: Denker A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3193190 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature