Two Pathways for the Activity-Dependent Growth and Differentiation of Synaptic Boutons in Drosophila

ENeuro
Alexander VasinMaria Bykhovskaia

Abstract

Synapse formation can be promoted by intense activity. At the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ), new synaptic boutons can grow acutely in response to patterned stimulation. We combined confocal imaging with electron microscopy and tomography to investigate the initial stages of growth and differentiation of new presynaptic boutons at the Drosophila NMJ. We found that the new boutons can form rapidly in intact larva in response to intense crawling activity, and we observed two different patterns of bouton formation and maturation. The first pathway involves the growth of filopodia followed by a formation of boutons that are initially devoid of synaptic vesicles (SVs) but filled with filamentous matrix. The second pathway involves rapid budding of synaptic boutons packed with SVs, and these more mature boutons are sometimes capable of exocytosis/endocytosis. We demonstrated that intense activity predominantly promotes the second pathway, i.e., budding of more mature boutons filled with SVs. We also showed that this pathway depends on synapsin (Syn), a neuronal protein which reversibly associates with SVs and mediates their clustering via a protein kinase A (PKA)-dependent mechanism. Finally, we took advantage of the ...Continue Reading

Citations


❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
electron microscopy

Software Mentioned

ImageJ
IMOD
Volocity
AnimalTracker
AMT

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation (MDS)

Alpha-synucleins are small proteins that are believed to restrict the mobility of synpatic vesicles and inhibit neurotransmitter release. Aggregation of these proteins have been linked to several types of neurodegenerative diseases including dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease. Here is the latest research on α-synuclein aggregation.

Related Papers

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Alexander VasinMaria Bykhovskaia
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Kaori Ikeda, John M Bekkers
News in Physiological Sciences : an International Journal of Physiology Produced Jointly by the International Union of Physiological Sciences and the American Physiological Society
M. R. Bennett
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved