Abstract
Ca2+ regulates multiple processes in nerve terminals, including synaptic vesicle recruitment, priming, and fusion. Munc13s, the mammalian homologs of Caenorhabditis elegans Unc13, are essential vesicle-priming proteins and contain multiple regulatory domains that bind second messengers such as diacylglycerol and Ca2+/calmodulin (Ca2+/CaM). Binding of Ca2+/CaM is necessary for the regulatory effect that allows Munc13-1 and ubMunc13-2 to promote short-term synaptic plasticity. However, the relative contributions of Ca2+ and Ca2+/CaM to vesicle priming and recruitment by Munc13 are not known. Here, we investigated the effect of Ca 2+/CaM binding on ubMunc13-2 activity in chromaffin cells via membrane-capacitance measurements and a detailed simulation of the exocytotic machinery. Stimulating secretion under various basal Ca2+ concentrations from cells overexpressing either ubMunc13-2 or a ubMunc13-2 mutant deficient in CaM binding enabled a distinction between the effects of Ca2+ and Ca2+/CaM. We show that vesicle priming by ubMunc13-2 is Ca2+ dependent but independent of CaM binding to ubMunc13-2. However, Ca2+/CaM binding to ubMunc13-2 specifically promotes vesicle recruitment during ongoing stimulation. Based on the experimental data and our simulation, we propose that ubMunc13-2 is activated by two Ca2+-dependent processes: a slow activation mode operating at low Ca2+ concentrations, in which ubMunc13-2 acts as a priming switch, and a fast mode at high Ca2+ concentrations, in which ubMunc13-2 is activated in a Ca2+/CaM-dependent manner and accelerates vesicle recruitment and maturation during stimulation. These different Ca2+ activation steps determine the kinetic properties of exocytosis and vesicle recruitment and can thus alter plasticity and efficacy of transmitter release.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1949-1960 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroscience |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 20 Feb 2008 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Calcium
- Calmodulin
- Chromaffin cell
- Exocytosis
- Kinetic modeling
- Munc13
- Priming