Synaptic vesicle exocytosis: Molecular mechanisms and clinical implications

摘要

Chemical synapses are the main mechanism of communication in the nervous system. At the presynaptic terminal, neurotransmitters are packaged into synap-tic vesicles (SVs); when an action potential opens presynaptic voltage-gated Ca~(2+) channels, the neurotransmitters are released by Ca~(2+)-triggered exocytosis into the synaptic cleft to activate postsynaptic receptors. SV exocytosis is restricted to the small section of the presynaptic plasma membrane called the active zone, which contains clustered Ca_v2 (P/Q-and N-type) voltage-gated Ca~(2+) channels.