Identification of the developmental change of the synaptic transmission mechanism at the to-be-eliminated synapse

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K19367
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 46:Neuroscience and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyoto University (2023); Tokyo Women's Medical University (2022)
• Principal Investigator: Midorikawa Mitsuharu 京都大学, 医学研究科, 教授 (60632643)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-06-30 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 神経回路 / シナプス / 開口放出 / 電気生理学 / イメージング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It has been shown that among the redundant synapse formed at the early phase of the development, 40-50% are eliminated before the maturation. Our aim was to examine how the synaptic transmission at the to-be-eliminated presynaptic terminals changed during the development. From the electrophysiological experiments, we found that the amount of calcium channel, which is crucial for the exocytosis of neurotransmitter, was fewer at the to-be-eliminated presyanptic terminals. By applying the super-resolution fluorescent microscopy, it was suggested that the establishment of the organized nanotopography between the synaptic vesicle release sites and the calcium channel was disturbed at the to-be-eliminated presynaptic terminals.

Free Research Field

神経生理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

神経回路は発達・経験依存的に改編されることが知られており、適切な改編が高次脳機能の発達に重要であるとともに、不適切な改編は精神・運動疾患などの原因となることが示唆されている。したがって、神経回路の接続部であるシナプスが除去されるメカニズムを理解することは、神経回路の不適切な改編による精神・運動疾患の発症機序の理解やその予防・治療へも繋がりうる重要な基礎研究である。申請者の研究成果は将来的に生き残るシナプスと除去されるシナプスの間の相違点についてその一端を明らかにしたものであり、大きな学術的意義がある。