During development, axons form branches in response to extracellular molecules. Little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we investigate how neurotrophin-induced axon branching is related to synaptic vesicle cycling for thalamocortical axons. The exogenous application of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) markedly increased axon branching in thalamocortical co-cultu...

For over a decade, the enhancement of regulated exocytosis by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) has remained unexplained at the molecular level. The fact that this phenomenon has been observed in such a wide variety of secretory cell types, from pancreatic beta-cells to neurons, suggests that it is an important and fundamental mechanism. Extensive analysis of the phosphorylation of exocytotic...

The Sec1 family of proteins is proposed to function in vesicle trafficking by forming complexes with target membrane SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor [NSF] attachment protein [SNAP] receptors) of the syntaxin family. Here, we demonstrate, by using in vitro binding assays, nondenaturing gel electrophoresis, and specific neurotoxin treatment, that the interaction of syntaxin1A wi...

While Munc18-1 interacts with Syntaxin1 and controls the formation of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNARE) complex to regulate presynaptic vesicle fusion in developed neurons, this molecule is likely to be involved in brain development since its gene abnormalities cause early infantile epileptic encephalopathy with suppression-burst (Ohtahara syndrome),...

background: superficial mucocele presents as small, clear vesicle on noninflamed mucosa. in this study, we report several vesicles on the bucal mucosa of a woman diagnosed as superficial mucocele.case presentation: a 48-year old woman presented with multiple vesicles on her labial mucosa, ventral surface of the tongue, floor of the mouth and palate. a mucosal biopsy was taken from the vesicle. ...

the changes of total calcium content of persian sturgeon, acipenser persicus follicles were investigated during different stages of germinal vesicle migration. total calcium content increased during maturation and ripening of the oocytes i.e. migration of nucleus toward the animal pole. according to data, the total calcium of follicles with polarization index (pi: the ratio of the distance of t...

In astrocytes, thyroxine modulates type II iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase levels by initiating the binding of the endosomes containing the enzyme to microfilaments, followed by actin-based endocytosis. Myosin V is a molecular motor thought to participate in vesicle trafficking in the brain. In this report, we developed an in vitro actin-binding assay to characterize the thyroid hormone-dependent b...

Vertebrate ocular morphogenesis requires proper dorso-ventral polarity within the optic vesicle, and loss of dorso-ventral polarity results in failure of optic cup formation and domain specification, as shown by a reverse transplantation of the optic vesicle. We have shown previously that the ocular development depends not only on the signal within the antero-ventral optic vesicle but also on t...