Huazhong University of Science and Technology professor Ma Cong ’s latest research on nerve cell signal transmission provides help to further solve the mystery of the brain. On December 20, the internationally renowned academic journal "Science" published a paper entitled "Reorganization of the Important Functions of Munc18 and Munc13 Proteins in Neurotransmitter Release" online. The thesis was completed by a team led by Ma Cong and Professor Joseph Riso of the Southwestern Medical Center. "For a long time, everyone knows that nerve signal transmission is inseparable from Munc18 and Munc13." Ma Cong and other researchers found that the activities of Munc18 and Munc13 run through the entire process of neurotransmitter release. "Our work perfectly presents the functions and mechanism of action of these two types of proteins through in vitro recombination, and proposes a highly efficient new pathway that strictly depends on the interaction of these two types of proteins." Researchers through biophysical methods combined with in vitro artificial membrane reorganization technology, for the first time comprehensively elaborated the molecular pathway mechanism of important proteins and phospholipid molecules involved in the release of neurotransmitters to mediate membrane fusion. The results of this study have changed people's current understanding of neurotransmitter release mechanisms and challenged the traditional membrane fusion secretion mechanism. Signal transmission between nerve cells is a complex process. At the end of the synapse of nerve cells, there are many vesicles loaded with neurotransmitters. Under action potential stimulation, calcium ions inflow, and the vesicles fuse with the presynaptic membrane at a millisecond speed, releasing neurotransmitters and quickly transmitting signals to the next nerve cell. The entire process is inseparable from the interaction of proteins and phospholipid molecules. Past studies have suggested that Snare protein complex directly completes membrane fusion, allowing neurotransmitters to be released. However, in the absence of Munc18 or Munc13 in nerve cells, neurotransmitter release is also completely blocked. At present, there is still a lack of understanding of these two types of proteins, and the molecular mechanism of membrane fusion is also very imperfect. Ma Cong believes that this work is a very basic and key scientific research in the field of neurobiology, which helps people understand how the brain learns, remembers and thinks at the molecular level of biology. Whether the neurotransmitter release pathway proposed in the study is universal and whether there are both "inefficient" and "efficient" parallel membrane fusion pathways remains to be verified. Plastic Folding Chairs,Plastic Injection Chair,Foldable Plastic Chairs,Lightweight Outdoor Furniture ZHEJIANG HUZOLI METAL PRODUCTS CO.,LTD , https://www.zlplasticfurniture.com
September 17, 2020