AI Article Synopsis
- Doc2alpha is a protein involved in calcium binding at synaptic vesicles, and researchers created mutant mice without this protein to study its effects on synaptic transmission.
- In experiments with the CA1 area of the hippocampus, these mutant mice exhibited stronger frequency facilitation and greater depression in synaptic responses during sustained high-frequency stimulation compared to normal mice, indicating that Doc2alpha plays a crucial role when there's high calcium concentration.
- Additionally, the mutant mice experienced difficulties with long-term potentiation and memory tasks, highlighting the importance of Doc2alpha in transmitter release and potentially in memory formation.
Article Abstract
Doc2alpha is a synaptic vesicle-associated Ca2 + -binding protein. To study the role of Doc2alpha in synaptic transmission and modulation, we generated homozygous null Doc2alpha mutant mice. In the CA1 region of hippocampal slices in the mutant mice, excitatory synaptic responses evoked with prolonged 5 Hz stimulation showed a significantly larger frequency facilitation followed by a steeper depression than those in wild-type mice, whereas there was no difference in synaptic transmission at lower frequencies or in paired-pulse facilitation. These results suggest that Doc2alpha regulates synaptic transmission when high Ca2 + concentrations in the presynaptic terminal are sustained. Furthermore, the mutant mice showed impairment in long-term potentiation and passive avoidance task. Thus, Doc2alpha may regulate transmitter release during repetitive synaptic activation, thereby contributing to memory formation.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00855.x | DOI Listing |
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