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Calcium, Calmodulin, and Synaptic Function: Modulation of Neurotransmitter Release, Nerve Terminal Protein Phosphorylation, and Synaptic Vesicle Morphology by Calcium and Calmodulin

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Regulatory Mechanisms of Synaptic Transmission

Abstract

An understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying calcium-dependent neurotransmitter release would greatly enhance our knowledge of synaptic transmission and the action of specific neuropharmacologic agents, and possibly provide new insights into human disease processes involving synaptic modulation. Although calcium’s role in neurotransmitter release from the presynaptic nerve terminal has been of great interest, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of Ca2+ in stimulating neurotransmitter release or its other physiological functions in the nerve terminal. Ca2+ was shown to stimulate the endogenous phosphorylation of whole brain (8–10,15) and synaptosomal proteins (10,16) and it was suggested from these results that the effects of calcium on protein phosphorylation might play a role in mediating some of the effects of this ion on neuronal tissue.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Robert J. DeLorenzo

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  1. Robert J. DeLorenzo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Center for Research in Cellular Physiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico

    Ricardo Tapia

  2. Department of Psychobiology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA

    Carl W. Cotman

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© 1981 Plenum Press, New York

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DeLorenzo, R.J. (1981). Calcium, Calmodulin, and Synaptic Function: Modulation of Neurotransmitter Release, Nerve Terminal Protein Phosphorylation, and Synaptic Vesicle Morphology by Calcium and Calmodulin . In: Tapia, R., Cotman, C.W. (eds) Regulatory Mechanisms of Synaptic Transmission. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3968-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3968-7_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-3970-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3968-7

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