Ca 2؉ is essential for physiological depolarization-evoked synchronous neurotransmitter release. But, whether Ca 2؉ influx or another factor controls release initiation is still under debate. The time course of ACh release is controlled by a presynaptic inhibitory G protein-coupled autoreceptor (GPCR), whose agonist-binding affinity is voltage-sensitive. However, the relevance of this property for release control is not known. To resolve this question, we used pertussis toxin (PTX), which uncouples GPCR from its Gi/o and in turn reduces the affinity of GPCR toward its agonist. We show that PTX enhances ACh and glutamate release (in mice and crayfish, respectively) and, most importantly, alters the time course of release without affecting Ca 2؉ currents. These effects are not mediated by G␥ because its microinjection into the presynaptic terminal did not alter the time course of release. Also, PTX reduces the association of the GPCR with the exocytotic machinery, and this association is restored by the addition of agonist. We offer the following mechanism for control of initiation and termination of physiological depolarization-evoked transmitter release. At rest, release is under tonic block achieved by the transmitter-bound high-affinity presynaptic GPCR interacting with the exocytotic machinery. Upon depolarization, the GPCR uncouples from its G protein and consequently shifts to a low-affinity state toward the transmitter. The transmitter dissociates, the unbound GPCR detaches from the exocytotic machinery, and the tonic block is alleviated. The free machinery, together with Ca 2؉ that had already entered, initiates release. Release terminates when the reverse occurs upon repolarization.G protein-coupled receptor ͉ neurotransmitter release ͉ pertussis toxin ͉ presynaptic receptors C a 2ϩ influx is essential for physiological depolarizationinduced neurotransmitter (NT) release (1, 2). A broader, Ca 2ϩ voltage, hypothesis suggests that two factors control release: Ca 2ϩ and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), whose agonist-binding affinity is voltage-dependent (3). The mechanism suggested for this control is as follows. (i) At resting potential and rest concentration (nMs) of transmitter, the release machinery (SNARE proteins and synaptotagmin) is under tonic block imposed by the transmitter-bound high-affinity (nMs) GPCR. (ii) Depolarization shifts the GPCR to a lowaffinity state ( Ms), resulting in rapid transmitter dissociation (it should be emphasized that at this stage release of NT did not occur yet, and the concentration of NT in the synapse is still in the nM range). (iii) The unbound GPCR detaches from the release machinery to relieve the tonic block. The free-release machinery together with Ca 2ϩ , which had already entered, initiates release. (iv) Upon repolarization, release terminates because the receptor returns to its high-affinity state and the tonic block is reinstated.Much of this suggested mechanism was supported experimentally (3-8) by using mainly the cholinergic neuromuscular junction (N...
