Gold-Labelled Calcium Channels (IMAGE)

University of Iowa Health Care

Gold-Labelled Calcium Channels

Caption

A study led by University of Iowa neuroscientist Samuel Young shows that contrary to current thinking, it is possible to increase the number of calcium channels at the presynaptic active zone, and that increasing channel numbers increases synaptic strength. The image shows gold-labelled Cav2.1 calcium channels (black dots) in the plasma membrane of the Calyx of Held nerve terminal. The image on the left is the control. The image on the right shows that overexpression of the Cav2.1 alpha 1 subunit leads to an increased number of Cav2.1 channels, indicating that the active zone is not filled to capacity and that it can accommodate additional Cav2.1 channels.

Credit

Samuel Young Laboratory, University of Iowa, and Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience Electron Microscopy Core

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