Immune complexes of auto-antibodies against A beta 1-42 peptides patrol cerebrospinal fluid of non-Alzheimer's patients.

The diagnostic potential of large A beta-peptide binding particles (LAPs) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) patients and non-AD controls (nAD) was evaluated. LAPs were detected by confocal spectroscopy in both groups with high inter-individual variation in number. Molecular imaging by confocal microscopy revealed that LAPs are heterogeneous superaggregates that could be subdivided morphologically into four main types (LAP 1-4). LAP-4 type, resembling a 'large chain of pearls', was detected in 42.1% of all nAD controls but it was virtually absent in AD patients. LAP-4 type could be selectively removed by protein A beads, a clear indication that it contained immunoglobulins in addition to beta-amyloid peptides (A beta 1-42). We observed a close correlation between LAPs and immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration in CSF in controls but not in AD patients. Double labeling of LAPs with anti-A beta and anti-IgG antibodies confirmed that LAP-4 type consisted of A beta and IgG aggregates. Our results assign a central role to the immune system in regulating A beta1-42 homeostasis by clustering this peptide in immunocomplexes.

Spatial organization and dynamic properties of neurotransmitter release sites in the enteric nervous system.

Synaptic communication requires an efficient coupling of vesicle fusion to release neurotransmitter and vesicle retrieval to repopulate the synapse. In synapses of the CNS many proteins involved in exocytosis, endocytosis and refilling of vesicles have been identified. However, little is known about the organization and functioning of synaptic contacts in the enteric nervous system (ENS). We used fluorescent antibodies against presynaptic proteins (synaptobrevin, synaptophysin, synaptotagmin and bassoon) to identify synaptic contacts not only in guinea-pig enteric ganglia but also in the interconnecting fiber strands. Staining patterns were not altered by colchicine (100 microM), ruling out a contribution of protein transport at the time of fixation. Active release sites at fiber intersections and around neuronal cell bodies were labeled with FM1-43 (10 microM) by high K+ or electric field stimulation (EFS). During a second round of EFS, vesicles were reused, as reflected by dye loss. Destaining rates increased with stimulus frequency (2-30 Hz), reaching a maximum at about 15 Hz, likely caused by synaptic depression at higher frequencies. Tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1 microM) as well as nominally zero external Ca2+ (2 mM EGTA) prevented all destaining. The readily releasable pool (RRP, a subset of vesicles docked at the membrane and ready to fuse upon [Ca2+]i increase) can be specifically released by a hypertonic challenge (500 mM sucrose). We measured this pool to be approximately 27% of the total recycling pool, remarkably similar to synapses in the CNS. In whole-mount preparations, FM1-43 also reliably labeled active release sites in ganglia, fiber strands and in muscle bundles. The staining pattern indicated that the presynaptic antibodies mainly labeled active sites. The presence of numerous release sites suggests information processing capability within interconnecting fibers. With FM imaging, enteric synaptic function can be monitored independent of any postsynaptic modulation. Although electron microscopy data suggest that ENS synapses may not be as specialized as hippocampal synapses, remarkably similar release properties were measured.

Quantal release of serotonin.

We have studied the origin of quantal variability for small synaptic vesicles (SSVs) and large dense-cored vesicles (LDCVs). As a model, we used serotonergic Retzius neurons of leech that allow for combined amperometrical and morphological analyses of quantal transmitter release. We find that the transmitter amount released by a SSV varies proportionally to the volume of the vesicle, suggesting that serotonin is stored at a constant intravesicular concentration and is completely discharged during exocytosis. Transmitter discharge from LDCVs shows a higher degree of variability than is expected from their size distribution, and bulk release from LDCVs is slower than release from SSVs. On average, differences in the transmitter amount released from SSVs and LDCVs are proportional to the size differences of the organelles, suggesting that transmitter is stored at similar concentrations in SSVs and LDCVs.

Postfusional regulation of cleft glutamate concentration during LTP at 'silent synapses'.

'Silent synapses' show responses from high-affinity NMDA receptors (NMDARs) but not low-affinity AMPA receptors (AMPARs), but gain AMPAR responses upon long-term potentiation (LTP). Using the rapidly reversible NMDAR antagonist l-AP5 to assess cleft glutamate concentration ([glu]cleft), we found that it peaked at <<170 microM at silent neonatal synapses, but greatly increased after potentiation. Cyclothiazide (CTZ), a potentiator of AMPAR, revealed slowly rising AMPA EPSCs at silent synapses; LTP shortened their rise times. Thus, LTP at silent synapses increased rate-of-rise and peak amplitude of [glu]cleft. Release probability reported by NMDARs remained unchanged during LTP, implying that [glu]cleft increases arose from immediately presynaptic terminals. Our data suggest that changes in the dynamics of fusion-pore opening contribute to LTP.

Activity-dependent regulation of synaptic clustering in a hippocampal culture system.

Currently, there is a limited understanding of the factors that influence the localization and density of individual synapses in the central nervous system. Here we have studied the effects of activity on synapse formation between hippocampal dentate granule cells and CA3 pyramidal neurons in culture, taking advantage of FM1-43 as a fluorescent marker of synaptic boutons. We observed an early tendency for synapses to group together, quickly followed by the appearance of synaptic clusters on dendritic processes. These events were strongly influenced by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor- and cyclic AMP-dependent signaling. The microstructure and localization of the synaptic clusters resembled that found in hippocampus, at mossy fiber synapses of stratum lucidum. Activity-dependent clustering of synapses represents a means for synaptic targeting that might contribute to synaptic organization in the brain.

Properties of fast endocytosis at hippocampal synapses.

Regulation of synaptic transmission is a widespread means for dynamic alterations in nervous system function. In several cases, this regulation targets vesicular recycling in presynaptic terminals and may result in substantial changes in efficiency of synaptic transmission. Traditionally, experimental accessibility of the synaptic vesicle cycle in central neuronal synapses has been largely limited to the exocytotic side, which can be monitored with electrophysiological responses to neurotransmitter release. Recently, physiological measurements on the endocytotic portion of the cycle have been made possible by the introduction of styryl dyes such as FM1-43 as fluorescent markers for recycling synaptic vesicles. Here we demonstrate the existence of fast endocytosis in hippocampal nerve terminals and derive its kinetics from fluorescence measurements using dyes with varying rates of membrane departitioning. The rapid mode of vesicular retrieval was greatly speeded by exposure to staurosporine or elevated extracellular calcium. The effective time-constant for retrieval can be < 2 seconds under appropriate conditions. Thus, hippocampal synapses capitalize on efficient mechanisms for endocytosis and their vesicular retrieval is subject to modulatory control.

Kinetics and regulation of fast endocytosis at hippocampal synapses.

Presynaptic nerve terminals often contain as few as a hundred vesicles and so must recycle them soon after exocytosis to preserve synaptic transmission and presynaptic morphology during repetitive firing. The kinetics and mechanisms of vesicular endocytosis and repriming have therefore been studied. Vesicles in hippocampal nerve terminals can become available to release their contents within approximately 40 s of the previous round of exocytosis. Studies using the styryl dye FM1-43 have estimated the time constant for endocytosis as approximately 20-30 s at least half of the total recycling time, which is much slower than endocytosis in other secretory systems. It seems paradoxical that the neurosecretory terminals that could benefit the most from rapid endocytosis do not use such a mechanism. Here we demonstrate the existence of fast endocytosis in hippocampal nerve terminals and derive its kinetics from fluorescence measurements using dyes with varying rates of membrane departitioning. The rapid mode of vesicular retrieval was much faster after exposure to staurosporine or elevated extracellular calcium. Thus hippocampal synapses take advantage of efficient mechanisms for endocytosis, and their vesicular retrieval is subject to modulatory control.

Modeling buffered Ca2+ diffusion near the membrane: implications for secretion in neuroendocrine cells.

Secretion of catecholamines from neuroendocrine cells is relatively slow and it is likely that redistribution and buffering of Ca2+ is a major factor for delaying the response after a stimulus. In fact, in a recent study (Chow, R. H., J. Klingauf, and E. Neher. 1994. Time course of Ca2+ concentration triggering exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91:12765-12769) Chow et al. concluded that the concentration of free calcium ([Ca2+]i) at a release site peaks at < 10 microM during short-step depolarizations, and then decays to baseline over tens of milliseconds. To check whether such a time course is consistent with diffusion theory, we modeled buffered diffusion in the vicinity of a Ca2+ channel pore. Peak [Ca2+]i and the slow decay were well simulated when release-ready granules were randomly distributed within a regular grid of Ca2+ channels with mean interchannel distances of 300-600 nm. For such large spacings, however, the initial rise in [Ca2+]i was underestimated, suggesting that a small fraction of the release-ready pool (approximately 10%) experiences much higher [Ca2+]i, and thus might be colocalized with Ca2+ channels. A model that accommodates these findings then correctly predicts many recent observations, including the result that single action potentials evoke near-synchronous transmitter release with low quantal yield, whereas trains of action potentials lead to desynchronized release, but with severalfold increased quantal yield. The simulations emphasize the role of Ca2+ not only in triggering, but also in modulating the secretory response: buffers are locally depleted by residual Ca2+ of a preceding stimulus, so that a second pulse leads to a larger peak [Ca2+]i at the fusion sites.

Mechanisms determining the time course of secretion in neuroendocrine cells.

Transmitter release from chromaffin cells differs from that in synapses in that it persists for a longer time after Ca2+ entry has stopped. This prolonged secretion is not due to a delay between vesicle fusion and transmitter release, nor to slow detection of released substance: step increases in capacitance due to single vesicle fusion precede the release detected by amperometry by only a few milliseconds. The persistence of secretion after a depolarization is reduced by addition of mobile calcium buffer. This suggests that most of the delay is due to diffusion of Ca2+ between channels and release sites, implying that Ca2+ channels and secretory vesicles are not colocalized in chromaffin cells, in contrast to presynaptic active zones.

Time course of Ca2+ concentration triggering exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells.

We have used the secretory response of chromaffin cells to estimate the submembrane intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) "seen" by secretory granules during short depolarizations. The rate of secretion during a depolarization was assessed by combining the electrochemical method of amperometry and electrical capacitance measurements. The rate was then related to [Ca2+]i based on a previous characterization of how Ca2+ affects the dynamics of vesicle priming and fusion in chromaffin cells [Heinemann, C., Chow, R. H., Neher, E. & Zucker, R. S. (1994) Biophys. J. 67, in press]. Calculated [Ca2+]i rose during the depolarization to a peak of < 10 microM, then decayed over tens of milliseconds. In synapses, vesicles are presumed to be located within nanometers of Ca2+ channels where [Ca2+]i is believed to rise in only microseconds to near steady-state levels of hundreds of micromolar. Channel closure should lead to a decrease in [Ca2+]i also in microseconds. Our findings of the slower time course and the lower peak [Ca2+]i suggest that in chromaffin cells, unlike synapses, Ca2+ channels and vesicles are not strictly colocalized. This idea is consistent with previously published data on dense-core vesicle secretion from diverse cell types.