Abstract
THE release of neurohormone is widely thought to be exocytotic, involving Ca2+-dependent1,2 fusion of secretory vesicles3,4 with the plasma membrane5. The inaccessibility of most nerve endings has so far hampered direct time-resolved measurements of neuronal exocytosis in response to brief depolarization. By using 'whole-terminal" patch-clamp and circuit-analysis techniques to measure membrane capacitance6, we have now monitored changes in the surface membrane area of individual nerve terminals isolated from the mammalian neurohypophysis7. A single depolarizing pulse leading to Ca2+ entry through voltage-gated calcium channels8, rapidly and reproducibly increases the membrane area by an amount corresponding to the fusion of 1–100 secretory vesicles. The magnitude of the capacitance increase depends not only on Ca2+ entry and buffering, but also on the pattern of stimulation revealing facilitation, fatigue and recovery of the release process.
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Fidler Lim, N., Nowycky, M. & Bookman, R. Direct measurement of exocytosis and calcium currents in single vertebrate nerve terminals. Nature 344, 449–451 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344449a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/344449a0
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