Journal
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
Volume 81, Issue 1, Pages 107-113Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2009.08.028
Keywords
Dendritic filopodium; Dendritic spine; Synaptogenesis; Synaptophysin; Visual cortex; Ultrastructure
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [30670688, 30771140]
- Natural Science Foundation of the Education Department of Henan Province [2007180008]
- Natural Science Grant of Henan University [2008YBGG048]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We used transmission electron microscopy to study ultrastructural changes accompanying synaptogenesis in the fetal and postnatal mouse visual cortex (primary visual cortex). Immunostaining and Dil diolistic assay were also employed in order to evaluate synaptophysin expression and dendritic spine development. Nascent synapses were seen as early as E15, although these were immature and were composed of a presumed presynaptic terminal with pleiomorphic vesicles in the vicinity of a partner cell body or projection. The postsynaptic plasmalemma remained unspecialized and the gap between pre- and post-synaptic plasmalemmas was only 5-10 nm, significantly narrower than the mature synaptic cleft. With increasing age there was gradual thickening of both the pre- and post-synaptic membranes, with widening of the synaptic cleft to 15-20 nm. Ultrastructurally mature synapses were not seen until P7; at this time both Gray's type I and II could be observed. Synaptogenesis correlated with the development of synaptic spines and synaptophysin expression. Because synapse maturation was synchronous with dendritic spine differentiation, synaptic specialization may be dependent on dendritic spine maturation and the expression of presynaptic vesicle components. In the meantime, the study also indicated that the synaptogenesis was connected with the development and maturation of neocortex. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available