TOMOGRAPHY OF ENDOCYTIC INTERMEDIATES IN NERVE TERMINALS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Dynamin 1 is a neuron-specific guanosine triphosphatase thought to be critically required for the fission reaction of synaptic vesicle endocytosis. Unexpectedly, mice lacking dynamin 1 were able to form functional synapses, even though their postnatal viability was limited. However, during spontaneous network activity, complex tubular vesicular invaginations were observed in synapses of dynamin 1knockout mice. A 3-D analysis using serial, electron tomography further revealed that branched, tubular plasma membrane invaginations accumulated in these mutant synapses, and these were capped by clathrin-coated pits. Synaptic vesicle endocytosis was severely impaired during strong exogenous stimulation but resumed efficiently when the stimulus was terminated. Thus, dynamin 1independent mechanisms can support limited synaptic vesicle endocytosis, but dynamin 1 is needed during high levels of neuronal activity.