Molecular Mechanisms of Neurotransmitter Release

Chen Yingqi^1,2, Zhang Chen^1,2*, Dong Wei³*, Yang Xiaofei⁴*

¹School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China; ²PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; ³Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology of Ministry of Education and Medical Electrophysiological Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China; ⁴College of Biomedical Engineering, South-Central University for Nationalities, Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science, Key Laboratory of Medical Information Analysis and Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment, Laboratory of Membrane Ion Channels and Medicine, Wuhan 430074, China

Abstract:

Neurons in the brain mainly rely on synapses to transmit information between cells. Neurotransmitters are released from presynaptic neurons to synaptic space， converting electrical signals into chemical signals. The released transmitters bind to corresponding postsynaptic receptors， causing the opening of receptor channels and then the conversion of chemical signals into postsynaptic electrical signals. So far， the molecular mechanism of calcium-triggered neurotransmitter release mediated by SNARE complex has been well understood， and the basic model of vesicle fusion has been widely recognized. However， there are still problems unsolved. This paper reviews the recent research on the molecular mechanism of neurotransmitter release， so as to provide a theoretical basis for the further analysis of important molecules during neurotransmitter release.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2019.01.0004