Biophysical Society Conference | Estes Park 2023

Membrane Budding and Fusion

Tuesday Speaker Abstracts

FUNCTIONAL NANO-ORGANIZATION OF SYNAPSES

Ege T. Kavalali 1 ; 1 Vanderbilt University, Pharmacology, Nashville, TN, USA

Traditionally a single synapse was assumed to have a homogeneous organization of molecular components both at the active zone and postsynaptically. However, recent advancements in imaging tools and the further elucidation of the physiological significance of distinct forms of release have challenged this notion. This work suggests that within a single active zone, molecular nanodomains align with postsynaptic receptor nanoclusters creating a precise trans synaptic alignment of release sites and receptors. This alignment in turn shapes synaptic efficacy, determining neurotransmission reliability, and tuning plasticity. In this presentation, I will discuss our recent studies delineating synaptic nanostructure and how a molecularly heterogeneous active zone organization tunes distinct forms of release. This nano-organization may dictate diverse synaptic functional outputs and parallel signal processing within a single synapse.

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