Article
Localization of individual calcium channels at the release face of a presynaptic nerve terminal
Neuron
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
12-1-1994
DOI
10.1016/0896-6273(94)90414-6
Abstract
Studies using biophysical techniques suggest a highly structured organization of calcium channels at the presynaptic transmitter release face (Llinás et al., 1981; Stanley, 1993), but it has not as yet proved possible to localize identified channels at the required nanometer level of resolution. We have used atomic force microscopy on the calyx-type nerve terminal of the chick ciliary ganglion to localize single calcium channels tagged via biotinylated ω-conotoxin GVIA to avidin-coated 30 nm gold particles. Calcium channels were in low (modal value approximately ⩽ 1 per μm2) and high (modal value55 per μm2) density areas and exhibited a prominent interchannel spacing of 40 nm, indicating an intermolecular linkage. Particles were observed in clusters and short linear or parallel linear arrays, groupings that may reflect calcium channel organization at the transmitter release site.
Rights
Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Philip G. Haydon, Eric Henderson and Elis F. Stanley. "Localization of individual calcium channels at the release face of a presynaptic nerve terminal" Neuron Vol. 13 Iss. 6 (1994) p. 1275 - 1280 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/eric-henderson/31/
This article is from Neuron 13 (1994): 1275, doi: 10.1016/0896-6273(94)90414-6.