Dresden 2009 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 25: Membranes
BP 25.10: Talk
Friday, March 27, 2009, 13:00–13:15, HÜL 186
Radial density profile and size distribution of synaptic vesicles determined by small angle x-ray scattering — •Simon Castorph1, Matthew Holt2, Michael Sztucki3, Reinhard Jahn2, and Tim Salditt1 — 1Institute for X-ray Physics, Göttingen, Germany — 2Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany — 3European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, France
The release of neurotransmitters from neurons, in response to stimulation, forms the basis of communication in the nervous system. Neurotransmitters are stored in small membraneous organelles, synaptic vesicles, within the presynaptic terminal. These vesicles undergo an elaborate cycle of fusion with the plasma membrane (releasing neurotransmitter), followed by retrieval and reformation and transport back to the plasma membrane for further rounds of fusion.
In recent years there has been enormous progress in our knowledge of the molecular composition and structure of synaptic vesicles. However, we still lack a detailed view of the physical properties of this trafficking organelle as it proceeds through its life-cycle.
Small angle x-ray scattering is used to find the average structural properties of synaptic vesicles form rat brain. Quantitative fitting of the x-ray scattering curves reveals the width of the size distribution and details of the radial scattering length profile of the vesicle structure. We obtain representative values for the inner and outer radii and the size polydispersity, as well as the density and width of the inner and outer protein layers.