Release from the cone ribbon synapse under bright light conditions can be controlled by the opening of only a few Ca2+ channels
Release from the cone ribbon synapse under bright light conditions can be controlled by the opening of only a few Ca2+ channels
复制标题
DOI:
10.1152/jn.00634.2011
复制
发表时间:
2011-12-01
影响因子:
2.5
通讯作者:
Thoreson, Wallace B.
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Bartoletti, Theodore M.;Jackman, Skyler L.;Thoreson, Wallace B.
Bartoletti TM, Jackman SL, Babai N, Mercer AJ, Kramer RH, Thoreson WB. Release from the cone ribbon synapse under bright light conditions can be controlled by the opening of only a few Ca2+ channels. J Neurophysiol 106: 2922-2935, 2011. First published August 31, 2011; doi: 10.1152/jn.00634.2011.-Light hyperpolarizes cone photoreceptors, causing synaptic voltage-gated Ca2+ channels to open infrequently. To understand neurotransmission under these conditions, we determined the number of L-type Ca2+ channel openings necessary for vesicle fusion at the cone ribbon synapse. Ca2+ currents (I-Ca) were activated in voltage-clamped cones, and excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were recorded from horizontal cells in the salamander retina slice preparation. Ca2+ channel number and single-channel current amplitude were calculated by mean-variance analysis of I-Ca. Two different comparisons-one comparing average numbers of release events to average I-Ca amplitude and the other involving deconvolution of both EPSCs and simultaneously recorded cone I-Ca-suggested that fewer than three Ca2+ channel openings accompanied fusion of each vesicle at the peak of release during the first few milliseconds of stimulation. Opening fewer Ca2+ channels did not enhance fusion efficiency, suggesting that few unnecessary channel openings occurred during strong depolarization. We simulated release at the cone synapse, using empirically determined synaptic dimensions, vesicle pool size, Ca2+ dependence of release, Ca2+ channel number, and Ca2+ channel properties. The model replicated observations when a barrier was added to slow Ca2+ diffusion. Consistent with the presence of a diffusion barrier, dialyzing cones with diffusible Ca2+ buffers did not affect release efficiency. The tight clustering of Ca2+ channels, along with a high-Ca2+ affinity release mechanism and diffusion barrier, promotes a linear coupling between Ca2+ influx and vesicle fusion. This may improve detection of small light decrements when cones are hyperpolarized by bright light.