Brain cells that release dopamine package it into tiny membrane-bound sacs called synaptic vesicles. And these vesicles differ from vesicles used by brain cells that release other neurotransmitters, a study led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators shows.
The study, published in Science Advances, could lead to better understanding of Parkinson’s disease, a movement disorder that causes dopamine-releasing brain cells to progressively die. The death of these cells leads to the movement problems that characterise the disease.
“Our research sheds light on the different ways brain cells release chemical messengers, which the cells use to communicate with each other,” said Katlin Silm, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neurology and senior author of the study. “We identified key differences between brain cells that release dopamine and those that release other brain chemicals.”
Synaptic vesicles help brain cells to communicate by fusing with the cell membrane and releasing their contents into the space between cells. In the brains of laboratory mice, investigators found that dopamine-containing synaptic vesicles carry a distinct set of proteins compared to those containing other messenger chemicals.
“Our findings show that a vesicle’s composition is critical to determining how brain messenger chemicals are released,” said Silm, also a research scientist in the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute. “The differences we identified help explain the unique properties of dopamine release and lay the groundwork to explore how this affects the long-term stability of dopamine-producing brain cells.”
Source: Cedars Sinai
