Synapse vesicle proteins, table

TABLE 9-2 A glossary of proteins in the synapse [73,74] 1. Synaptic vesicle proteins... 

The sequence of events that result in neurotransmission of information from one nerve cell to another across the synapses begins with a wave of depolarization which passes down the axon and results in the opening of the voltage-sensitive calcium channels in the axonal terminal. These channels are frequently concentrated in areas which correspond to the active sites of neurotransmitter release. A large (up to 100 /iM) but brief rise in the calcium concentration within the nerve terminal triggers the movement of the synaptic vesicles, which contain the neurotransmitter, towards the synaptic membrane. By means of specific membrane-bound proteins (such as synaptobrevin from the neuronal membrane and synaptotagrin from the vesicular membrane) the vesicles fuse with the neuronal membrane and release their contents into the synaptic gap by a process of exocytosis. Once released of their contents, the vesicle membrane is reformed and recycled within the neuronal terminal. This process is completed once the vesicles have accumulated more neurotransmitter by means of an energy-dependent transporter on the vesicle membrane (Table 2.3). 

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