Module B-06 Flashcards
Describe life cycle of small molecule transmitters
- Synthetic enzymes manufactured in rough ER
- Enzymes modified in Golgi apparatus
- Enzymes transported to terminals
- Precursors taken up to interact with enzymes released from vesicles
- Transmitters loaded into vesicles
a. Most enter clear-core vesicles
b. Serotonin and Norepi enter dense-core vesicles - Transmitters released through exocytosis
- Transmitters may interact with receptors
- Transmitters may be taken up
- Transmitters may be metabolized
- Metabolites may be taken up
Describe Life Cycle of Neuroactive Peptides
- Pre-propeptides and cleaving enzymes synthesized in rough ER
- Pre-propeptides and cleaving enzymes packed in dense-core vesicles in smooth ER
- Dense-core vesicles transported towards terminals
- Cleavage sometimes yields many neuroactive peptide transmitters
- Peptides released through exocytosis (often co-released with a small molecule transmitter)
- Peptides may interact with receptors
- Peptides may diffuse away from synapse, undergoing enzymatic degradation without uptake
_________ not _________dictate excitatory versus inhibitory effects on cell
Receptors; Transmitters
Describe synthesis of Acetylcholine
- Glucose enters cell through facilitated diffusion
- Cytoplasmic glycolysis generates pyruvate
- Pyruvate enters mitochondria and donates acetyl group to coenzyme-A, yielding acetyl coenzyme-A, which returns to cytoplasm
- Choline retrieved from the synapse interacts with acetyl coenzyme-A in presence of ACh transferase to yield ACh
- ACh enters vesicles
Describe degradation of Ach
ACh esterase hydrolyzes ACh (resultant choline taken up for re-use)
Cholinergic neurons of the rostral pons (Dorsolateral Pontine tegmental constellation of cholinergic neurons) project to
brainstem, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, basal ganglia and other cholinergic cells of the basal forebrain.
Cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain( including basal nucleus of Meynert) project to the
cortex,
hippocampus
amygdala
Preganglionic autonomic nuclei (cholinergic) of the brainstem and spinal cord
projecting to peripheral postganglionic autonomic neurons
Peripheral cholinergic neurons
- Lower motor neurons give rise to axons that exit the central nervous system en route to somatic muscle
- Preganglionic autonomic neurons dwell just medial to the sulcus limitans in the brainstem and select levels of the thoracic, lumbar and sacral spinal cord
a. Typically follow cranial nerves or ventral spinal nerves to release ACh onto either postganglionic neurons or adrenal chromaffin cells - Postganglionic neurons innervate visceral targets
a. All parasympathetic postganglionic and some sympathetic postganglionic neurons also release ACh
An ionotropic receptor for ACh is called _________
nicotinic receptor
metabotropic ACh receptor are called _________
Muscarinic receptors
Number of muscarinic receptors
five subtypes of metabotropic ACh receptor
(M1 – M5) some excitatory , some inhibitory
_________ and __________ amino acids are main central excitatory transmitters
Glutamate ; Aspartate
Glutamate exerts inhibitory effects in ________ of CNS
Retina
2 methods of Glutamate synthesis
1) Krebs cycle
2) Glutamate recycling
Describe Krebs cycle synthesis of Glutamate
- Glucose enters neuron by facilitated diffusion
- Intracellular glucose metabolized via Krebs cycle
- Alpha-oxoglutarate transaminase yields glutamate
Describe Glutamate recycling
Astrocytes
1. Astrocytic glutamate transporters take up extracellular glutamate
2. Glutamine synthetase metabolizes glutamate to form glutamine in astrocytes
3. Glutamine exits astrocytes and enters neurons through
glutamine transporters
4. Intraneuronal glutaminase converts glutamine to
glutamate for reloading into vesicles
Nerve Terminal
1. Terminal glutamate transporters take up extracellular glutamate
2. Glutamate taken up by neuronal terminals is also
subject to vesicular reloading
Locations of Glutamatergic neurons
-centrally ubiquitous
-Many peripheral sensory axons projecting into the
brainstem or spinal cord
-numerous special sensory neurons release glutamate despite lacking axons
Describe synthesis of Aspartate
transamination of oxaloacetate
Removal of Aspartate
-synaptic aspartate may use the glutamate uptake transporter, also known as the glutmate-aspartate transporter
Location of Aspartergic neurons
- interneurons (excitatory role) in the spinal ventral horn.
- some cerebellar efferents
Types of Ionotropic Glutamate receptors
AMPA/Quisqualate
Kainate (Kanic acid)
NMDA
effects of AMPA/Quisqualate receptors (nGlut)
Agonists provoke the influx of Na+ and the efflux of K+.
effects of Kainate receptors (nGlut)
Agonists provoke the influx of Na+ and the efflux of K+.
effects of NMDA receptors (nGlut)
- Agonists open a central pore, provided that glycine also occupies a strychnine-insensitive binding site.
- With sufficient depolarization of the membrane (e.g., through the actions of other glutamate receptors), Mg++ exits, thus permitting the influx of Ca++ and Na+
and the efflux of K+ - NMDA receptor-dependent ionic fluxes contribute relatively little to changes in membrane potential but promote calcium dependent processes (e.g., enzyme activity)
Types of Metabotropic Glutamate receptors
There are eight known mGluRs that can be divided into three Groups.
- Group I mGLURs typically excite.
- Group II mGLURs typically inhibit.
- Group III mGluRs typically inhibit.
_______ and ________ are inhibitory amino acids
GABA; Glycine
Describe synthesis of GABA
- Glutaminase converts glutamine to glutamate.
- Glutamic acid decarboxylase converts glutamate to GABA.
- GABA is transported loaded into vesicles.
Describe GABA removal
- After release, GABA transporters take up GABA for reuse.
- Glia take up GABA, where GABA transaminase degrades
GABA to form glutamate. - Glutamine synthetase then converts glutamate to glutamine.
- Glutamine may be returned to neurons for re-synthesis of glutamate.
Location of GABAergic neurons
– Small GABAergic neurons are ubiquitous modulators – Longer GABAergic pathways arise from varied nuclei • Striatum >> substantia nigra • Substantia nigra >> thalamus • Medial vestibular nuclei >> spinal cord • Cerebellar cortex >> deep cerebellar nuclei
2 types of GABA receptors
GABAa - ionotropic (permeable to Cl-)
GABAb- metabotropic (G-protein-mediated coupling to calcium and potassium channels)
Effects of GABA a receptor
limit excitability of neurons by holding membrane potentials near resting values