Silencing synapses

Abstract

The degeneration of pre-synaptic boutons in the stratum radiatum of the dorsal hippocampus is one of earliest components of neurodegeneration in several models of murine prion disease. We recently showed that blockade of synaptic transmission by infusion of botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) into the hippocampus several weeks prior to the onset of degeneration, had no detectable impact on the extent of the synaptic degeneration.¹ We elaborate here on the rationale for these experiments and highlight why we believe that this negative result is interesting and important. We also discuss new observations that might provide insights into the molecular events that underlie synapse degeneration.

Keywords: :

• synaptic degeneration
• neural activity
• synaptic vesicle exocytosis
• synaptic vesicle recycling
• protein misfolding diseases
• mouse hippocampus
• SNAP-25
• SNARE complex

This article refers to:

Acknowledgments

We thank Salome Murinello for her excellent assistance with the Figures.