Photoreceptor synaptic ribbons: Three-dimensional shape, orientation and diurnal (non) variation

McCartney, Mitchell D.; Dickson, D. Howard

doi:10.1016/s0014-4835(85)80022-1

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Seldom reconstructed SRs were curved or crescent shaped (Fig. 2a, ), as was also described for SRs in retina (Sjöstrand 1974(Sjöstrand , 1976McCartney and Dickson 1985;Rao-Mirotznik et al 1995) and the organ of Corti (Sobkowicz et al 1982). Cand v-shaped ribbon profiles, spheres and intermediate structures were rare (cf.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 64%

“…In electron-microscopic sections they appear as electron-dense rod-like profiles measuring about 150-200 nm in length with a thickness of 30-40 nm, surrounded by electron-lucent vesicles. Three-dimensional reconstructions of SRs from serial sections in retina (Sjöstrand 1974(Sjöstrand , 1976McCartney and Dickson 1985), organ of Corti (Sobkowicz et al 1982) and pineal gland (McNulty et al 1986;Robertson and Dickson 1987) have clearly demonstrated the presence of plate-like SRs. However, applying a goniometer to pineal tissue, it was found that singly lying SRs were rodlike, whereas SRs lying in groups were plate-like (Theron et al 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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The shape of synaptic ribbons in the rat pineal gland

Jastrow

Mach

Vollrath

1997

Cell and Tissue Research

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Under the transmission electron microscope, synaptic ribbons (SRs) of the mammalian pineal gland appear as rod-like organelles. Their three-dimensional structure is not precisely known. In the present study, pineal SRs were investigated using serial sections obtained from rats killed at noon and midnight. The shape of the SRs was reconstructed based on SR profile length and the number of sections in which the profiles were contained. The results obtained show that SRs are basically flat plate-like structures with polymorphic lateral edges. Reconstructions of SRs revealed that they had average dimensions of 300x150x35 nm and were 19.3% larger at night than at day; the difference in SR size points to perhaps major differences in synaptic function between day and night.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The shape of synaptic ribbons in the rat pineal gland

Jastrow

Mach

Vollrath

1997

Cell and Tissue Research

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“…However, each cat spherule has a twist in its ribbon-where the two pairs of apposed lateral elements abut-and two bifurcation ridgelines. Similarly, McCartney and Dickson (1985;their Fig. 2) show guinea pig rods with one ribbon, and that ribbon has a twist like the ones in the cat spherules.…”

Section: Central Elementsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Horizontal cells provide the lateral elements (Missotten, 1965;Stell, 1965Stell, , 1967, and rod bipolar cells provide the central elements (Sjöstrand, 1958;Missotten, 1965). The most prominent presynaptic structure associated with the triad is the flat, synaptic ribbon (Sjöstrand, 1953;Ladman, 1958;McCartney and Dickson, 1985), which appears as a stripe in cross section (e.g., Fig. 1C).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Two ribbon synaptic units in rod photoreceptors of macaque, human, and cat

Migdale

Herr

Klug

et al. 2002

J of Comparative Neurology

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The rod photoreceptor's synaptic terminal (or spherule) uses an elaborate synaptic structure to signal absorption of one or more photons to its postsynaptic targets. This structure includes one or two synaptic ribbons inside the terminal and a pouch-like "invagination" outside the terminal, into which enter a widely variable number of incoming fibers and postsynaptic targets-central elements supplied by rod bipolar cells and lateral elements supplied by horizontal cells. Nonetheless, our three-dimensional reconstructions of this synaptic structure in foveal retina of macaque monkey and peripheral retina of human and cat reveal several features that are highly conserved across species and with eccentricity: 1). every spherule has one invagination; 2). with rare exceptions, every spherule has two ribbon synaptic units with these features: a). on the presynaptic side, each ribbon synaptic unit has a ribbon or part of a ribbon and one trough-shaped arciform density that demarcates its active zone; b). on the postsynaptic side, each ribbon synaptic unit has two apposed lateral elements and one or more central elements; 3). the volume of the extracellular space in the single invagination is small, approximately 0.1 microm(3); and 4). the largest distance from active zone to receptor regions on bipolar cells is small, less than approximately 1.5 microm. With such small dimensions, release of one quantum of transmitter can pulse glutamate to a concentration comparable to the EC(50) of the metabotropic glutamate receptors on the central elements associated with both synaptic units. We speculate that two ribbon synaptic units are required to sustain the high quantal release rate needed to signal a single photon.

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“…A case in point are retinal photoreceptors in guineapigs where careful morphometric studies have detected no morphological changes (McCartney and Dickson 1985).…”

Section: The Dynamic Nature Of Synaptic Bodiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presynaptic bodies (”ribbons"): from ultrastructural observations to molecular perspectives

Wagner

1997

Cell and Tissue Research

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The morphological diversity and dynamic aspects of presynaptic bodies are summarised. Molecular characteristics of the presynaptic machinery are discussed and the signals that control the plasticity of the presynaptic bodies are examined. A review is presented of recent findings regarding the physiology of tonically active synapses. The significance of the synaptic bodies and their dynamic changes in retinal and pineal photoreceptors are considered.

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Photoreceptor synaptic ribbons: Three-dimensional shape, orientation and diurnal (non) variation

Cited by 21 publications

References 30 publications

The shape of synaptic ribbons in the rat pineal gland

The shape of synaptic ribbons in the rat pineal gland

Two ribbon synaptic units in rod photoreceptors of macaque, human, and cat

Presynaptic bodies (”ribbons"): from ultrastructural observations to molecular perspectives

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