HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Video Supplements Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tong, J. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tong, J. J. Related Collections Neuroscience - Learning and Memory Imaging and Microscopy Insects Miscellaneous Invertebrates Physiology

Mitochondrial Delivery Is Essential for Synaptic Potentiation

Biophysics and Physiology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697; and Grass Laboratory, Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543

E-mail: tongja{at}uci.edu

Mitochondria, as portable generators that power synaptic function, regulate the ATP supply and calcium homeostasis in the neuron. As molecular interactions within the synapses before and after the potentiation are beginning to be elucidated, the deciding moment during the tetanic stimulation that gives rise to the strengthening of the synapse remains a mystery. Here, I recorded electrically from an intact Drosophila nervous system, while simultaneously using time-lapse confocal microscopy to visualize mitochondria labeled with green fluorescent protein. I show that tetanic stimulation triggers a fast delivery of mitochondria to the synapse, which facilitates synaptic potentiation. Rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I, suppresses mitochondrial transport and abolishes the potentiation of the synapse. Expression of neurofibromin, which improves mitochondrial ATP synthesis in the neuron, enhances the movements of mitochondria to the synapse and promotes post-tetanic potentiation. These findings provide unprecedented evidence that the mitochondrial delivery to the synapse is critical for cellular learning.

Abbreviations: drp1, dynamin-related protein • EJP, evoked junction potential • GFP, green fluorescent protein • NF1, Neurofibromatosis-1 gene • NMDA, N-methyl-D-aspartate • NMJ, neuromuscular junction • PKA, protein kinase A • TMRE, tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester