Physiological and chemical analysis of neurotransmitter candidates at a fast excitatory synapse in the jellyfish Cyanea capillata (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa)

Motor nerve net (MNN) neurons in the jellyfish Cyanea capillata communicate with one another by way of fast, bidirectional excitatory chemical synapses. As is the case with almost all identified chemical synapses in cnidarians, the identity of the neurotransmitter at these synapses is unclear. MNN n...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Invertebrate neuroscience 2009-12, Vol.9 (3-4), p.167-173
Main Authors: Anderson, Peter A. V, Trapido-Rosenthal, H. G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acid
Amino acids
Animals
beta-Alanine - analysis
beta-Alanine - metabolism
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cell Biology
Chemical analysis
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cnidaria
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials - physiology
Invertebrates
Molecular Medicine
Motor Neurons - metabolism
Nerve Net - metabolism
Neurobiology
Neurosciences
Neurotransmitter Agents - analysis
Neurotransmitter Agents - metabolism
Original Paper
Patch-Clamp Techniques
Physiological responses
Physiology
Scyphozoa - physiology
synapse
Synapses - physiology
Synaptic Transmission - physiology
taurine
Taurine - analysis
Taurine - metabolism
β-Alanine
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Motor nerve net (MNN) neurons in the jellyfish Cyanea capillata communicate with one another by way of fast, bidirectional excitatory chemical synapses. As is the case with almost all identified chemical synapses in cnidarians, the identity of the neurotransmitter at these synapses is unclear. MNN neurons are large enough for stable intracellular recordings. This, together with the fact that they can be exposed, providing unlimited access to them and to their synapses, prompted a study of the action of a variety of neurotransmitter candidates, including those typically associated with fast synapses in higher animals. Only the amino acids taurine and β-alanine produced physiological responses consistent with those of the normal EPSP in these cells. Moreover, chemical analysis revealed that both taurine and β-alanine are present in the neurons and released by depolarization. These various findings strongly suggest that either or both of these amino acids, or a closely related compound is the neurotransmitter at the fast chemical synapses between MNN neurons.
ISSN:1354-2516
1439-1104
DOI:10.1007/s10158-009-0095-9