Elucidation of molecular mechanismsand physiologicalfunctions of presyanptic active zones

突触前活动区被认为以空间和时间协调的方式调节神经末梢的神经递质释放。在这项研究中，已经表明，活性区蛋白CAST直接与电压依赖性钙通道（VDCCs）相互作用，调节VDCCs的开放。此外，利用CAST基因敲除小鼠，CAST被证明可以调节视网膜中特殊活动区的大小，即所谓的带状突触，这是正常视觉所必需的。

The presynaptic active zone is thought to regulate release of neurotransmitter from nerve terminals in a spatially and temporally coordinated manner. In this research, it has been shown that the active zone protein CAST directly interacts with voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs), regulating the opening of VDCCs. Moreover, using CAST knockout mice, CAST was demonstrated to regulate the size of specialize active zone in the retina, so called ribbon synapse and required for normal vision.