TY - JOUR
T1 - Single-Molecule-Resolution Approaches in Synaptic Biology
AU - Sun, Chao
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2024/4/4
Y1 - 2024/4/4
N2 - Synapses between neurons are the primary loci for information transfer and storage in the brain. An individual neuron, alone, can make over 10000 synaptic contacts. It is, however, not easy to investigate what goes on locally within a synapse because many synaptic compartments are only a few hundred nanometers wide in size─close to the diffraction limit of light. To observe the biomolecular machinery and processes within synapses, in situ single-molecule techniques are emerging as powerful tools. Guided by important biological questions, this Perspective will highlight recent advances in using these techniques to obtain in situ measurements of synaptic molecules in three aspects: the cell-biological machinery within synapses, the synaptic architecture, and the synaptic neurotransmitter receptors. These advances showcase the increasing importance of single-molecule-resolution techniques for accessing subcellular biophysical and biomolecular information related to the brain.
AB - Synapses between neurons are the primary loci for information transfer and storage in the brain. An individual neuron, alone, can make over 10000 synaptic contacts. It is, however, not easy to investigate what goes on locally within a synapse because many synaptic compartments are only a few hundred nanometers wide in size─close to the diffraction limit of light. To observe the biomolecular machinery and processes within synapses, in situ single-molecule techniques are emerging as powerful tools. Guided by important biological questions, this Perspective will highlight recent advances in using these techniques to obtain in situ measurements of synaptic molecules in three aspects: the cell-biological machinery within synapses, the synaptic architecture, and the synaptic neurotransmitter receptors. These advances showcase the increasing importance of single-molecule-resolution techniques for accessing subcellular biophysical and biomolecular information related to the brain.
KW - Biology
KW - Neurons/physiology
KW - Synapses/physiology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85188541551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c08026
DO - 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c08026
M3 - Review
C2 - 38513216
AN - SCOPUS:85188541551
SN - 1520-6106
VL - 128
SP - 3061
EP - 3068
JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry B
JF - Journal of Physical Chemistry B
IS - 13
ER -