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Synapse regulation exploits the capacity of actin to function as a stable structural component or as a dynamic filament. Beyond its well-appreciated role in eliciting visible morphological changes at the synapse, the emerging picture points to an active contribution of actin to the modulation of the efficacy of pre- and postsynaptic terminals. Moreover, by engaging distinct pools of actin and divergent signalling pathways, actin-dependent morphological plasticity could be uncoupled from modulation of synaptic strength. The aim of this Review is to highlight some of the recent progress in elucidating the role of the actin cytoskeleton in synaptic function.

After the arrival of a presynaptic nerve impulse at an excitatory synapse in hippocampal neurons, the rate of neurotransmitter release increases rapidly and then returns to low levels with a biphasic decay. The two kinetically distinct components are differentially affected when Sr2+ is substituted for Ca2+ ions. Our rmdings are comparable to those of the classical studies for the frog neuromuscular junction, and thus the basic aspects of Ca2+-activated transmitter release machinery appear to be conserved in central synapses. The method we have used, in addition, permits us to estimate the average neurotransmitter release rate for a single bouton. The observation of differential Ca2+/Sr2+ sensitivity is consistent with a release mechanism mediated by two Ca2+ sensors with distinct Ca2+ affinities: the low-affinity Ca2+ sensor facilitates the fast synchronous phase of release, whereas the high-affinity sensor sustains the slow asynchronous phase of release.Classical electrophysiological studies of synaptic transmission, most notably at the frog neuromuscular junction, have demonstrated the possibility of multiple mechanisms of Ca2+-dependent transmitter release based on distinct phases of exocytotic rates and pharmacology: the rate of transmitter release after the initial rapid rise appeared to decay biphasically (1), and the two components of release exhibited differential sensitivity toward the external concentrations of Ca2+, Mg2+, and Sr2+ (2, 3). In another study, the increase in the size of evoked transmitter release elicited by a repetitive stimulation decayed with four kinetically distinct components that again showed differential sensitivity toward various divalent cations (4).Although fundamental aspects of synaptic transmission in neuromuscular junctions are thought to be conserved in central synapses, some important differences between peripheral and central transmission have been recognized in recent studies (5). We have therefore initiated a characterization of the stimulus-evoked transmitter release in a central synapse, using cultured hippocampal neurons as a model system. MATERIALS AND METHODSCell Culture. Dissociated hippocampal neurons were prepared from embryonic day 15-17 C57BL/6 mice (HarlanSprague-Dawley) and cultured as described (6-8). Cell cultures were used for recording 8-13 days after plating.Electrophysiology. Dual whole-cell patch clamp recordings from paired cells were carried out as described (8). Concentrations of external CaCl2, SrCl2, and MgCl2 were varied as indicated. Microperfusion experiments were done as outlined (8), and boutons were visualized by synapsin I immunofluorescence (9). RESULTSTo examine transmitter release in central neurons, we monitored synaptic transmission between pairs of hippocampal pyramidal neurons in primary culture. Synaptic responses measured from a pair of neurons were averaged across stimulation trials and then time averaged over 10-ms bins to create histograms that estimate the quantal release rate as function of time (see Appendix). Suc...

Homeostatic synaptic plasticity is a negative feedback mechanism that neurons use to offset excessive excitation or inhibition by adjusting their synaptic strengths. Recent findings reveal a complex web of signaling processes involved in this compensatory form of synaptic strength regulation, and in contrast to the popular view of homeostatic plasticity as a slow, global phenomenon, neurons may also rapidly tune the efficacy of individual synapses on demand. Here we review our current understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms of homeostatic synaptic plasticity.

Rab proteins represent a large family of ras‐like GTPases that regulate distinct vesicular transport events at the level of membrane targeting and/or fusion. We report here the primary sequence, subcellular localization and functional activity of a new member of the rab protein family, rab9. The majority of rab9 appears to be located on the surface of late endosomes. Rab9, purified from Escherichia coli strains expressing this protein, could be prenylated in vitro in the presence of cytosolic proteins and geranylgeranyl diphosphate. In vitro‐prenylated rab9 protein, but not C‐terminally truncated rab9, stimulated the transport of mannose 6‐phosphate receptors from late endosomes to the trans Golgi network in a cell‐free system that reconstitutes this transport step. Rab7, a related rab protein that is also localized to late endosomes, was inactive in the in vitro transport assay, despite its efficient prenylation and capacity to bind and hydrolyze GTP. These results strongly suggest that rab9 functions in the transport of mannose 6‐phosphate receptors between late endosomes and the trans Golgi network. Moreover, our results confirm the observation that a given organelle may bear multiple rab proteins with different biological functions.

Synapses are highly specialized intercellular junctions that mediate the transmission of information between axons and target cells. A fundamental property of synapses is their ability to modify the efficacy of synaptic communication through various forms of synaptic plasticity. Recent developments in imaging techniques have revealed that synapses exhibit a high degree of morphological plasticity under basal conditions and also in response to neuronal activity that induces alterations in synaptic strength. The underlying molecular basis for this morphological plasticity has attracted much attention, yet its functional significance to the mechanisms of synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity remains elusive. These morphological changes ultimately require the dynamic actin cytoskeleton, which is the major structural component of synapses. Delineating the physiological roles of the actin cytoskeleton in supporting synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity, therefore, paves the way for gaining molecular insights into when and how synaptic machineries couple synapse form and function.

SV2 proteins are abundant synaptic vesicle proteins expressed in two major (SV2A and SV2B) and one minor isoform (SV2C) that resemble transporter proteins. We now show that SV2B knockout mice are phenotypically normal while SV2A- and SV2A/SV2B double knockout mice exhibit severe seizures and die postnatally. In electrophysiological recordings from cultured hippocampal neurons, SV2A- or SV2B-deficient cells exhibited no detectable abnormalities. Neurons lacking both SV2 isoforms, however, experienced sustained increases in Ca2+-dependent synaptic transmission when two or more action potentials were triggered in succession. These increases could be reversed by EGTA-AM. Our data suggest that without SV2 proteins, presynaptic Ca2+ accumulation during consecutive action potentials causes abnormal increases in neurotransmitter release that destabilize synaptic circuits and induce epilepsy.

The Rab family of low-molecular-mass GTP-binding proteins are thought to guide membrane fusion between a transport vesicle and the target membrane, and to determine the specificity of docking. The docking and fusion of vesicles is, however, a complex multistep reaction, and the precise point at which Rab proteins act in these sequential processes is unknown. In brain, the Rab protein Rab3A is specific to synaptic vesicles, whose exocytosis can be monitored with submillisecond resolution by following synaptic transmission. We have now determined the precise point at which Rab3A acts in the sequence of synaptic vesicle docking and fusion by using electrophysiological analysis of neurotransmitter release in Rab3A-deficient mice. Unexpectedly, the size of the readily releasable pool of vesicles is normal, whereas Ca2+-triggered fusion is altered in the absence of Rab3A in that a more-than-usual number of exocytic events occur within a brief time after arrival of the nerve impulse.