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The Journal of Neuroscience, March 1, 1999, 19(5):1557-1565
The Optically Determined Size of Exo/Endo Cycling Vesicle Pool
Correlates with the Quantal Content at the Neuromuscular Junction of
Drosophila Larvae
Hiroshi
Kuromi and
Yoshiaki
Kidokoro
Institute for Behavioral Sciences, Gunma University School of
Medicine, 3-39-22, Showa-machi, Maebashi, 371-8511, Japan
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ABSTRACT |
According to the current theory of synaptic transmission, the
amplitude of evoked synaptic potentials correlates with the number of
synaptic vesicles released at the presynaptic terminals. Synaptic
vesicles in presynaptic boutons constitute two distinct pools, namely,
exo/endo cycling and reserve pools (Kuromi and Kidokoro, 1998a ). We
defined the vesicles that were endocytosed and exocytosed during high
K+ stimulation as the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool.
To determine the role of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool in synaptic
transmission, we estimated the quantal content electrophysiologically,
whereas the pool size was determined optically using fluorescent dye
FM1-43. We then manipulated the size of the pool with following
treatments. First, to change the state of boutons of nerve terminals,
motoneuronal axons were severed. With this treatment, the size of
exo/endo cycling vesicle pool decreased together with the quantal
content. Second, we promoted the FM1-43 uptake using cyclosporin A,
which inhibits calcineurin activities and enhances endocytosis.
Cyclosporin A increased the total uptake of FM1-43, but neither the
size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool nor the quantal content changed. Third, we increased the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool by
forskolin, which enhances synaptic transmission. The forskolin treatment increased both the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool and
the quantal content. Thus, we found that the quantal content was
closely correlated with the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool but
not necessarily with the total uptake of FM1-43 fluorescence by
boutons. The results suggest that vesicles in the exo/endo cycling pool
primarily participate in evoked exocytosis of vesicles.
Key words:
synaptic vesicle pools; FM1-43; quantal
con tent; neuromuscular junction; Drosophila larva; forskolin; cyclosporin A
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INTRODUCTION |
Signal transmission at the synapse
is mediated by the neurotransmitter packaged in synaptic vesicles at
the nerve terminal. Transmitter release occurs in discrete quantal
units as the result of exocytosis of these vesicles. According to the
current theory of neurotransmission, the magnitude of evoked release
depends on the number of quanta released after arrival of an action
potential. To test this prediction, Koenig et al. (1989) compared the
number of synaptic vesicles in the electron micrograph of nerve
terminals with the amplitude of synaptic potentials at the
neuromuscular junction of a temperature-sensitive Drosophila
mutant, shibirets1
(shits1). In
shits1 at nonpermissive temperature,
vesicle recycling is blocked, and the amplitude of evoked synaptic
potentials declines during repetitive stimulation. Koenig et al. (1989)
found that the fewer the vesicles in the close vicinity of active
sites, the smaller were the amplitudes of synaptic potentials, and they
concluded that the extent of transmitter release was indeed closely
related to the number of vesicles. In this case, they counted synaptic
vesicles clustered at release sites that may belong to one homogeneous
pool. Many studies, however, have suggested that there are
subpopulations of synaptic vesicles in the nerve terminal (Zimmermann
and Whittaker, 1977 ; Ewing et al., 1983 ; Pieribone et al., 1995 ).
Furthermore, in shits1, we have
demonstrated two topographically and functionally distinct pools of
synaptic vesicles, namely exo/endo cycling and reserve pools (Kuromi
and Kidokoro, 1998a ). The question then arises: which of the pool is
directly correlated with synaptic transmission?
When the shits1 preparation was treated
with cytochalasin D, the reserve pool size was greatly reduced, whereas
the exo/endo cycling pool was unchanged. In this preparation, the
amplitude of synaptic potentials did not change at 0.3 Hz stimulation
but decreased rapidly at 10 Hz (Kuromi and Kidokoro, 1998a ). We
suggested that the vesicles in the reserve pool play a crucial role for sustaining high-frequency transmission but are not directly involved in
the immediate exocytosis at low stimulation rates (Kuromi and Kidokoro,
1998a ), whereas vesicles in the exo/endo cycling pool are primarily
involved in synaptic transmission at low-frequency stimulation.
In this study we used the following three treatments to
manipulate the size of the vesicle pool, and we examined the effects on
the quantal content of synaptic transmission: (1) the axon severance,
which might affect the state of nerve terminals and change the pool
size, (2) the treatment with cyclosporin A, which enhances the
endocytosis of synaptic vesicles by inhibiting calcineurin activities
(Kuromi et al., 1997 ), and (3) the forskolin treatment. Forskolin has
been shown to facilitate synaptic transmission at the crayfish (Dixon
and Atwood, 1989 ) and Drosophila larval neuromuscular junctions (Zhang et al., 1998 ). Thus, we expected forskolin to change
the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool.
Here we report that the optically determined size of exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool is closely correlated with the quantal content of synaptic
potentials at the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila larvae.
A preliminary report of these results has appeared elsewhere (Kuromi
and Kidokoro, 1998b ).
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Fly stocks. A wild-type strain of Drosophila
melanogaster, Canton S, and a single-gene mutant of
Drosophila, shits1, were used
in this study. The stock flies were bred at 24°C on the standard
cornmeal medium supplemented with yeast under a 12 hr light/dark cycle.
Preparations. Larval body wall neuromuscular preparations
were made from third instar larvae. For dissection, a larva was placed
prone on a thin layer of sylgard resin (Dow Corning, Tokyo, Japan) in a
plastic dish with the HL3 medium (Stewart et al., 1994 , see below). The
larval rostral and caudal ends were fixed to the sylgard using insect
pins. The larva was cut open along the dorsal midline using
microdissecting scissors, and the digestive system and other internal
organs were removed. In the completed preparations, the ventral
longitudinal muscles (muscles 6 and 7) were easily identified. All
experiments were performed on synapses on muscles 6 and 7 of abdominal
segments A-2 or A-3.
Solutions. Preparations with intact or severed axons were
incubated for 1-3 hr in HL3 medium, which was suitable for maintaining preparations for a long period (Stewart et al., 1994 ). The composition of HL3 medium is (in mM); NaCl, 70; sucrose, 115; KCl, 5;
MgCl2, 20; CaCl2, 1.5;
NaHCO3, 10; trehalose, 5; and HEPES, 5, pH 7.3. For
FM1-43 loading and unloading experiments and electrophysiological studies, the standard Drosophila medium
(Drosophila medium) containing (in mM): 130 NaCl, 36 sucrose, 5 KCl, 2 CaCl2, 2 MgCl2, and 5 HEPES, pH 7.3, was used (Jan and Jan,
1976 ); for Ca2+-free saline, CaCl2 was
replaced by 2 mM MgCl2 and 0.5 mM
EGTA in the Drosophila medium. High K+
saline contained 90 mM KCl, in which NaCl was reduced by an
equivalent amount in the Drosophila medium.
FM1-43 loading and unloading. For study of FM1-43 uptake
into vesicles at nerve terminals, we replaced the Drosophila
medium with high K+ saline containing 10 µM FM1-43. After incubation in high
K+ saline containing FM1-43 and
Ca2+ for 5 min, the preparations were washed three
times with Ca2+-free saline and then incubated in
Ca2+-free saline for additional 15 min to remove
surface-bound FM1-43. The fluorescence intensity measured in this
condition represents the total uptake of FM1-43 and is indicated by
the height of each column in Figures 2-4.
To release synaptic vesicles, the synapses loaded with FM1-43 were
stimulated at 22°C (except described otherwise) with high K+ saline in the presence of external
Ca2+ and in the absence of FM1-43 for 5 min and
then viewed under a fluorescence microscope in
Ca2+-free saline. The fluorescence intensity
measured in this condition represents the unreleasable portion of
fluorescence and is indicated by the dotted or filled portion of each
column in Figures 2-4. Thus, the blank portion of each column
represents the amounts of vesicles that are incorporated into boutons
by endocytosis and released by exocytosis during high
K+ stimulation. We referred to these vesicles in
wild-type larvae as the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool. In the previous
study using shi, we defined the fraction of vesicles that
were endocytosed and exocytosed during high K+
stimulation at permissive temperature (22°C) as the exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool (Kuromi and Kidokoro, 1998a ). Because at permissive
temperature exocytosis and endocytosis of vesicles in shi
are not different from those in wild-type larvae (Poodry and Edgar,
1979 ), the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool in wild-type larvae observed
in the present study is identical to that defined in shi. It
should be noted that not all labeled vesicles are actively recycled in
the normal condition. There are some vesicles that are endocytosed, but
are not exocytosed by high K+ stimulation in the
normal condition (see High K+ stimulation at 22 and
34°C in shits1 mutant in Results). In
some experiments using shits1, high
K+ stimulation was applied at 34°C to deplete
vesicles under the condition in which the endocytotic vesicle supply
was blocked.
Fluorescence microscopy and image processing. The
preparations were viewed with an upright microscope (BX50WI; Olympus,
Tokyo, Japan) equipped with DIC and epifluorescence optics. We used a 40×, 0.80 NA water immersion objective lens (Lumplane FI; Olympus) or
a 63×, 0.90 NA Zeiss Achroplan water immersion objective for observation. The preparations were excited by light with 488 nm wavelength (Polychrome II; TILL Photonics GmbH, Planegy, Germany), and
light emitted at >530 nm was collected.
Images were captured with a CCD camera (usually 0.27 sec/frame,
C4880-81S; Hamamatsu Photonics, Hamamatsu, Japan). Images were
acquired, stored, and processed with a digital Celebris computer (GLST
5133; Nippon Digital Equipment, Tokyo, Japan) by an intracellular Ca2+ analysis system (Argus-HiSCA; Hamamatsu
Photonics) and printed with an Epson printer (MJ-930C). Twelve bit
images were acquired with the CCD camera, and pixel values were
compressed identically to 8 bits. The average light intensity emitted
from five to six brightly stained boutons with diameters longer than 3 µm, which were selected from one field (86 times 64 µm), was
measured before and after the high K+ stimulation.
The background intensities were subtracted from the intensities in the bouton.
Electrophysiology. Membrane potentials were recorded from
muscle 6 in the abdominal segments A-2 and A-3 using glass
microelectrodes filled with 4 M potassium acetate.
Electrode resistances were usually between 20 and 40 M . To evoke
excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs), pulses (1 msec in duration and
2× threshold voltage in intensity) were delivered to an appropriate
segmental nerve via a glass suction electrode (20-50 µm inside
diameter) at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. Spontaneous miniature excitatory
junctional potentials (MEJPs) were recorded for 1 min, and the mean
amplitude was calculated.
Chemicals. Chemicals used in these experiments and their
sources are as follows: FM1-43 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR),
cytochalasin B and cytochalasin D (Sigma, St. Louis, MO), cyclosporin
A, forskolin, and dibutyryl cAMP sodium salt (db-cAMP) (Wako Chemicals,
Tokyo, Japan).
Statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed by
using Student's t test.
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RESULTS |
Effects of axon severance on FM1-43 loading and unloading in the
nerve terminals
In an attempt to affect the state of presynaptic boutons of nerve
terminals, we severed the motoneuronal axons and examined the FM1-43
fluorescence uptake.
Acute effects of axon severance
We loaded and unloaded nerve terminals with FM1-43 in freshly
isolated preparations with the intact CNS or after sectioning nerves near their entry to the ganglion. The staining patterns of
boutons with FM1-43 were the same in both preparations, with staining
predominantly in the periphery of boutons (Fig.
1A, top panel). Between these fresh preparations, there were
no differences in FM1-43 fluorescence intensities before and after
high K+ stimulation (Fig.
2A,B;
marked with "0 h" at the bottom, the height of each column
represents the total fluorescence intensity after loading, and that of
the dotted portion indicates the fluorescence intensity after
unloading. Thus, the blank portion of each column depicts the fraction
of vesicles that are endocytosed and exocytosed in the normal condition
and is called the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool). No effect of axon
severance was found in the vesicle pool. However, it is possible that
the effect of axon severance could become apparent after a certain
period of time.

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Figure 1.
FM1-43 staining and destaining of
Drosophila nerve terminals in variously treated
preparations. Preparations that were freshly isolated
(A), pretreated for 7 min with 20 µM forskolin (B), with severed
axons incubated for 2 hr (C), and pretreated for
20 min with 10 µM cyclosporin A
(D), were incubated for 5 min in high
K+ saline containing 10 µM FM1-43,
then washed with Ca2+-free saline for 15 min and
viewed (top picture in each preparation). The stained
preparations were then stimulated at 22°C for 5 min by high
K+ saline (bottom picture in each
preparation). For details, see Results. Scale bar, 10 µm.
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Figure 2.
FM1-43 fluorescence intensities in boutons of
preparations that were incubated from various lengths of time in
different media before (A, B) or after
(C, D) loading with FM1-43. Preparations
with intact axons (A, C) and with severed
axons (B, D) were incubated in HL3 medium
(not labeled) or in Ca2+-free saline (labeled with
" Ca2+"). Some preparations were pretreated for
20 min with cytochalasin B (10 µM, CB) or cytochalasin D
(10 µM, CD), which were also present in the medium during
incubation. The ordinates show FM1-43 fluorescence intensities (pixel
values) in boutons before (the heights of columns) and after
(top ends of dotted portion of columns)
high K+ stimulation. For measurements of the
intensities of fluorescence of boutons, 12-bit images were acquired
with the CCD camera, and pixel values were compressed to 8 bits.
Average intensities were computed for each bouton. Five to six boutons
were examined in each preparation. Mean fluorescence values of boutons
were determined in each preparation and summarized (mean and SEM). The
numbers in columns are the number of preparations examined.
Vertical bar of each column is SEM. The time below
columns shows the incubation time.
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Effects of axonal severance after 1-3 hr of incubation
When preparations with intact axons were incubated for 2 hr in HL3
medium and then loaded with FM1-43 in high K+
saline, the FM1-43 staining pattern of boutons and the fluorescence intensity did not differ from those in freshly isolated preparations (Fig. 2A, column marked with "2 h" at the
bottom). The similar results were obtained when preparations were
incubated in Ca2+-free saline to prevent spontaneous
activities evoked by action potentials generated in the CNS (Fig.
2A, column marked with " Ca2+,
2 h"). Approximately 90% of the FM1-43 fluorescence in boutons disappeared after high K+ stimulation. Thus, the
exo/endo cycling vesicle pool in these preparations was similar to that
of freshly isolated ones.
When preparations with severed axons were loaded with FM1-43 at 1, 2, and 3 hr after incubation in HL3 medium, the boutons showed staining
patterns and the total fluorescence intensities similar to those in
freshly isolated preparations (Fig. 1C, top panel; Fig. 2B, columns marked with "1
h", "2 h", and "3 h"). Similar results were obtained when
preparations were incubated in Ca2+-free saline
(Fig. 2B, column marked with
" Ca2+, 2 hr"). However, in preparations with
axons severed and incubated for 2-3 hr, only ~30% of the
fluorescence disappeared after high K+ stimulation
(Fig. 1C, bottom panel; Fig.
2B, note larger dotted portions in columns marked
with "2 h" and "3 h"), indicating that the exo/endo
cycling vesicle pool was smaller in these preparations.
These results suggest either that a part of previously releasable
fraction became unreleasable or that a new unreleasable fraction
appeared during the incubation period. To distinguish these
alternatives, the following experiment was performed in which synaptic
vesicles were first loaded with FM1-43 and then incubated for 2 hr.
FM1-43 was loaded in freshly isolated preparations with intact or
severed axons, and then the preparations were incubated for 2 hr in
Ca2+-free saline. The fluorescence intensity was
measured before and after high K+ stimulation to
assess a releasable portion of the fluorescence intensity. The total
FM1-43 fluorescence intensities in boutons were slightly decreased
after 2 hr incubation compared with those observed in freshly isolated
preparations, but the difference was not significant (Fig.
2C,D, compare the height of columns marked with
"0 h" and "2 h"). In preparations with intact axons, ~85% of
FM1-43 fluorescence in boutons was destained by high
K+ stimulation (Fig. 2C, the blank
portion of column marked with " Ca2+, 2 h"). In
contrast, when FM1-43-loaded preparations with severed axons were
incubated for 2 hr and then stimulated by high K+
saline, only 25% of fluorescence was destained (Fig.
2D, the blank portion of the column marked with
" Ca2+, 2 hr"). Thus, in nerve terminals of
axons severed, FM1-43 fluorescence became mostly unreleasable during
the 2 hr incubation period. We further examined the mechanism of this
unexpected effect of axon severance.
Effects of cytochalasin B and D on the FM1-43
fluorescence fractions
It is plausible that synaptic vesicles became unreleasable as the
result of binding to actin filaments (Hirokawa et al., 1989 ). We thus
tested the effect of cytochalasin B and D, which are known to disrupt
actin polymerization (Cooper, 1987 ; Smith, 1988 ). Preparations with
severed axons were incubated for 2 hr in the HL3 medium containing cytochalasin B (10 µM) or cytochalasin D (10 µM) and then loaded with FM1-43. The total FM1-43
fluorescence intensities in boutons of these preparations were not
significantly different from those of nontreated preparations (Fig.
2B, compare the height of columns marked with "CB,
2 h" and "CD, 2 h" with that of column marked with "2 h").
However, after high K+ stimulation, ~80% of the
FM1-43 fluorescence was destained in cytochalasin B- or cytochalasin
D-treated preparations (Fig. 2B, the blank portion of
columns marked with "CB, 2 h" and "CD, 2 h"), whereas only
~30% of the fluorescence was destained in nontreated preparations
(Fig. 2B, the column marked with "2 h").
To further confirm the effect of actin polymerization disrupting
agents, preparations with severed axons were first loaded with FM1-43
and then incubated for 2 hr in Ca2+-free saline
containing cytochalasin D (10 µM). The same effects of
the drug were observed as described above (Fig. 2D,
the blank portion of column marked with " Ca2+,
CD"). Thus, it appears that after 2 hr incubation synaptic vesicles became unreleasable with high K+ stimulation as the
result of binding to actin filaments in preparations with severed
axons. However, there was the possibility that the dye became
compartmentalized and was no longer releasable. To test this
possibility, we used shits1 mutants as
described below.
High K+ stimulation at 22 and 34°C in
shits1 mutants
Previously we have shown in shits1
mutants that vesicles in the reserve pool are not releasable with high
K+ stimulation at room temperature but can be
released at nonpermissive temperature (Kuromi and Kidokoro, 1998a ).
Thus, we tested whether those unreleasable fluorescence in boutons of
axons severed and incubated for 2 hr can be released in
shits1 mutants at nonpermissive temperature.
As was observed in wild-type larvae, 60% of FM1-43 fluorescence
remained after high K+ stimulation at 22°C in
shits1 terminals of axons severed and
incubated in HL3 medium for 2 hr (Fig.
3A, preparations incubated and
then loaded with FM1-43; Fig. 3B, preparations loaded with
FM 1-43 and then incubated, the dotted area of column marked with
"22°C" in shibire). On the other hand, after high
K+ stimulation at 34°C, only ~10% of FM1-43
fluorescence remained in shits1 (Fig.
3A,B, the filled area of columns
marked with "34°C" in shibire). These results suggest
that the FM1-43 fluorescence that remained after high
K+ stimulation at 22°C in preparations with
severed axons and incubated for 2 hr was not caused by dye taken up
nonspecifically in the boutons, but rather represented dye in the
releasable vesicles.

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Figure 3.
FM1-43 fluorescence intensities in boutons of
wild-type and shibire
(shits1) preparations with axons
severed and incubated in the medium for 2 hr. The ordinates show
FM1-43 fluorescence intensities (pixel values) in boutons before
(heights of columns) and after (top ends of
dotted and filled portions) high
K+ stimulation at 22°C (dotted) or
34°C (filled). Wild-type and
shits1 preparations with severed
axons were incubated in HL-3 medium for 2 hr and then loaded with
FM1-43 (A), or first loaded with FM1-43 and
then incubated in Ca2+-free saline for 2 hr
(B). For details, see the legend to Figure
2.
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These results were not simply the effect of temperature, because 60%
of FM1-43 fluorescence of wild-type larvae with axons severed and
incubated in HL3 medium for 2 hr remained after high K+ stimulation both at 22°C and at 34°C (Fig.
3A,B, dotted and filled areas of
columns marked with "22°C" and "34°C" in wild-type).
Effects of cyclosporin A on FM1-43 loading and unloading in the
nerve terminals
Previously we have shown that pretreatment with cyclosporin A
increases the number of nerve terminals visibly stained with FM1-43 by
high K+ stimulation in Drosophila larvae
and suggested that cyclosporin A enhances endocytosis of synaptic
vesicles in the nerve terminals (Kuromi et al., 1997 ). To determine
whether one vesicle pool is affected selectively by cyclosporin A, we
performed the following experiment.
Preparations with intact axons were incubated for 20 min in
Drosophila medium containing 10 µM cyclosporin
A and then loaded with FM1-43 by high K+
stimulation. In these cyclosporin A-pretreated preparations, entire
boutons were stained, as shown in Figure 1D
(top panel). The FM1-43 fluorescence intensity
in boutons of cyclosporin A-pretreated preparations was significantly
higher than that in nontreated ones (Fig.
4, compare the height of column marked
with "10 µM, cyclosporin A" with that of column
marked with "control"). In cyclosporin A-pretreated preparations
some amounts of FM1-43 fluorescence remained in the central part of
boutons after high K+ stimulation (Fig.
1D, bottom panel; Fig. 4, the dotted
portion of column marked with "10 µM cyclosporin
A").

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Figure 4.
Effects of drugs on FM1-43 fluorescence fractions
in boutons of preparations with intact axons. The heights of columns
are the fluorescence intensities of boutons before high
K+ stimulation, and dotted portions
of columns represent fluorescence intensities remaining after high
K+ stimulation. Preparations were treated with the
drug shown: cyclosporin A (20 min), forskolin (7 min), or db-cAMP (15 min). Some preparations were first loaded with FM1-43 by high
K+ stimulation, and these stained preparations were
then treated with cyclosporin A (10 µM) for 20 min
(loaded with FM1-43 and then treated with cyclosporin A).
*p ± 0.05; **p ± 0.01, compared with corresponding fluorescence intensities in control
preparations (Drosophila medium).
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When the preparations with intact axons were first loaded with FM1-43
and then treated with cyclosporin A, no change was observed in the
total intensity of FM1-43 fluorescence and in its sensitivity to high
K+ stimulation (Fig. 4, the column marked with
"loaded with FM1-43 and then treated with cyclosporin A"),
indicating that cyclosporin A had no effect on the vesicles already
incorporated in the nerve terminals.
Cyclosporin A enhances endocytosis of synaptic vesicles at nerve
terminals. The endocytosed vesicles are incorporated into two distinct
vesicle fractions; one is high K+-releasable and
located in periphery of boutons, and the other is high
K+-unreleasable and located in the center of boutons.
Effects of forskolin and db-cAMP on FM1-43 loading and
unloading in the nerve terminals
An elevation of cAMP in the presynaptic terminal has been shown to
enhance synaptic transmission (Dixon and Atwood, 1989 ; Zhong and Wu,
1990 ; Zhang et al., 1998 ). It is possible that cAMP enhances synaptic
transmission by increasing the size of vesicle pools. To test this
possibility, we examined the effect of treatments that increase cAMP in
the terminal on the vesicle pools. When preparations with intact axons
were treated with forskolin (5 and 20 µM) for 7 min and
then exposed for 5 min to high K+ saline containing
10 µM FM1-43, the FM1-43 fluorescence intensity in
boutons was significantly higher than that in nontreated preparations (Fig. 4, the height of columns labeled with "5 µM
forskolin" and "20 µM forskolin"). The staining
patterns of boutons in forskolin-pretreated preparations were
essentially the same as those in nontreated preparations; i.e., the
periphery of boutons was predominantly stained, but the boutons in
forskolin-pretreated preparations were more brightly stained than in
nontreated preparations (Fig. 1B, top
panel). More than 90% of FM1-43 fluorescence was
destained by high K+ stimulation in
forskolin-pretreated preparations (Fig. 1B,
bottom panel; Fig. 4, the blank portion of columns
labeled with "5 µM forskolin" and "20
µM forskolin"), as observed in nontreated preparations. Thus, the forskolin treatment increases the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool.
Pretreatment with db-cAMP (150 µM for 15 min) had
essentially the same effects on FM1-43 loading and unloading as
pretreatment with forskolin (Fig. 4, the column labeled with "150
µM db-cAMP")
Relationships between the FM1-43 loading time and the size
of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool in variously treated preparations
As shown above, in forskolin-treated preparations, the size of
exo/endo cycling vesicle pool increased, whereas it decreased in
preparations with axons severed and incubated for 2 hr. Because we
loaded boutons with FM1-43 for 5 min in experiments so far described,
the possibility remains that the 5 min loading time might not be long
enough to estimate the size of the vesicle pool.
To test this possibility, we varied the loading time of FM1-43 and
measured the amounts of FM1-43 fluorescence released by high
K+ stimulation. The amount of the fluorescence
increased as the loading time was prolonged, and the steady state was
achieved within 1 min in nontreated preparations (Fig.
5, open circles). As
shown in Figure 5, although the loading rate of the exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool was similar, the magnitude of the steady-state levels was
significantly enhanced in forskolin-pretreated preparations (Fig. 5,
filled circles) and significantly reduced in
preparations with axons severed and incubated for 2 hr (Fig. 5,
open triangles), compared with nontreated
preparations. There were no significant differences in the loading rate
of the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool and the magnitude of steady-state
levels between cyclosporin A-pretreated and nontreated preparations
(Fig. 5, filled triangles, open
circles)

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Figure 5.
Time courses of FM1-43 incorporation into
exo/endo cycling vesicle pool in boutons of variously treated
preparations. Preparations were pre-exposed to 10 µM
FM1-43 in the normal medium for 5 min and then exposed for various
times to high K+ saline in the presence of 10 µM FM1-43 (loading time). These preparations were washed
three times with Ca2+-free saline and incubated in
Ca2+-free saline for additional 15 min to remove
surface-bound dye. To measure the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle
pool, the preparation was then stimulated with high
K+ saline for 5 min in the absence of FM1-43. The
ordinate shows difference in the fluorescence of boutons before and
after high K+ stimulation. The abscissa shows time
of exposure to high K+ saline containing 10 µM FM1-43. Forskolin-treated (20 µM,
filled circles), cyclosporin A-treated (10 µM, filled triangles), or nontreated
(open circles) preparations and preparations with axons
severed and incubated for 2 hr in HL3 medium (open
triangles). Numbers in
parentheses are the number of preparations examined.
Asterisks indicate significant difference from
corresponding values of nontreated preparations at
p < 0.001.
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Synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction in
variously treated preparations
Despite variations in the EJP amplitude in variously treated
preparations, no change was detected in the MEJP amplitude (Table 1). The amplitude of the EJP was
significantly smaller in preparations with axons severed and incubated
for 2 hr (Fig. 6D,
Table 1), but was not different in preparations with axons severed and
incubated in the presence of cytochalasin D (Fig. 6E,
Table 1), compared with that in freshly isolated nontreated
preparations with intact axons. The ratio of mean EJP amplitude to mean
MEJP amplitude was significantly enhanced in forskolin-pretreated (20 µM) preparations and significantly reduced in
preparations with axons severed and incubated for 2 hr, compared with
that in freshly isolated nontreated preparations with intact axons
(Table 1). There were no significant differences in the parameters
examined in the present study and also in the frequency of MEJPs (data
not shown) between cyclosporin A-pretreated (10 µM) and
nontreated preparations (Fig. 6B, Table 1), in accord
with the result reported in our previous paper (Kuromi et al.,
1997 ).

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Figure 6.
EJPs and MEJPs in variously treated preparations
(A-E) and Ca2+
dependence of evoked release (F).
A-E, Representative traces of synaptic
potential in freshly isolated preparation (A),
cyclosporin A-treated (10 µM for 20 min) preparation
(B), forskolin-treated (20 µM for 7 min) preparation (C), preparation with axons
severed and incubated for 2 hr in HL3 medium (D),
and preparation with axons severed and incubated for 2 hr in the
presence of cytochalasin D (E, 10 µM). The
topmost record in each panel shows evoked junctional
potentials, and the bottom four traces show spontaneous
events recorded in the same muscle fibers. MEJP records were selected
to show representative amplitudes. Calibration: 8 mV, 0.1 sec (for
EJPs); 1 mV, 0.2 sec (for MEJP). F, Quantal content is
plotted as a function of extracellular Ca2+
concentration for forskolin-treated (20 µM, filled
circles), nontreated (open circles), and
cyclosporin A-treated (10 µM, filled
triangles) preparations. The Ca2+
concentration of the recording solution was adjusted to 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 mM with fixed 5 mM
MgCl2.
|
|
Quantal contents in forskolin- and cyclosporin
A-pretreated preparations
In saline containing 2 mM Ca2+, the
quantal content was larger in the forskolin-treated preparations and
unchanged in the cyclosporin A-treated preparations. To assess the
Ca2+ dependence of these effects, we measured EJPs
and MEJPs at different extracellular Ca2+
concentrations. The ratio of mean EJP amplitude to mean MEJP amplitude
[corrected for nonlinear summation, (Martin, 1955 ), using a reversal
potential of 0 mV; see Jan and Jan, 1976 ; Chang et al., 1994 ] was used
as an estimate of quantal content. Forskolin (20 µM)
increased the quantal content in the whole range of
Ca2+ concentrations between 0.1 and 0.8 mM (Fig. 6F, filled
circles). Cyclosporin A (10 µM) had no effect
(Fig. 6F, filled triangles). Although the slopes were unaffected, there was a considerable shift in
the concentration of Ca2+ needed to evoke a given
level of quantal release in the forskolin-treated versus nontreated
preparations. Thus, these effects of forskolin and cyclosporin A were
observed in all Ca2+ concentrations tested in this experiment.
 |
DISCUSSION |
To study the functional role of the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool
in synaptic transmission, the size of vesicle pool in single boutons
was optically determined using fluorescent dye FM1-43, and the quantal
content was estimated by the ratio of the EJP amplitude to that of MEJP
at the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila larvae. Among
the FM1-43 fractions taken up in boutons in high K+
saline, the fraction that was released by high K+
stimulation in the absence of the dye is considered the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool because these vesicles are involved in both endocytosis and exocytosis processes. In the following three types of
preparations, the size of the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool and the
quantal content of synaptic transmission were found to change in
parallel. (1) In preparations with axons severed and incubated for 2-3
hr, the total amount of FM1-43 fluorescence taken up by these boutons
was in the normal range, but the fraction released by high
K+ stimulation was sharply decreased, compared with
that in freshly isolated control preparations. In these preparations,
the quantal content was significantly smaller than controls.
Furthermore, the treatment of these preparations with cytochalasin B or
D during the incubation period prevented the decrease in the FM1-43
fraction released by high K+ stimulation and, at the
same time, blocked the reduction in the quantal content. (2) The
cyclosporin A treatment increased the total amount of FM1-43
fluorescence taken up by boutons, but the fraction releasable by high
K+ stimulation did not change. The quantal content
in these preparations was not different from controls. (3) Forskolin
increased the total amount of FM1-43 fluorescence taken up by boutons,
and the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool was enlarged. The quantal content
in these preparations was also increased. Thus, the present study
showed that changes in the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool paralleled
those in the quantal content and that there is not necessarily a tight relationship between the total FM1-43 fluorescence taken up by boutons
and the quantal content. These results suggest that synaptic vesicles
in the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool participate primarily in
impulse-evoked release of synaptic vesicles from nerve terminals.
In preparations with axons severed and incubated and also in those
pretreated with cyclosporin A, there was a difference between FM1-43
loading and unloading efficiency. If exocytosis of vesicles caused the
same extent of endocytosis of vesicles, we cannot account for this
discrepancy. It appears that although endocytosis is closely coupled to
exocytosis, two processes are differentially controlled. For example,
exocytosis of vesicles occurs at the active sites of nerve terminals,
whereas endocytosis is also observed in other sites (Miller and Heuser,
1984 ). Furthermore, Ca2+ is necessary for exocytosis
of vesicles, but endocytosis occurs independently of
Ca2+ (Ryan et al., 1993 ).
It has been hypothesized that among synaptic vesicles in nerve
terminals, only few vesicles at active sites of synapse participate in
the immediate release of transmitter (Von Gersdorff et al., 1996 ;
Schikorski and Stevens, 1997 ; Neher, 1998 ) and contribute to the
quantal content. In the present study, when quantal contents were
plotted against optically determined sizes of exo/endo cycling vesicle
pool in various preparations, there was a linear relationship between
the two parameters (Fig. 7). The size of
exo/endo cycling vesicle pool changes in parallel with the quantal
content. Thus, the present study suggests that an equilibrium may exist
between the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool and immediately releasable
vesicles. This idea is supported by the results obtained by
electrophysiological analysis that once depleted, the immediately
releasable vesicle pool is refilled with a time constant of 5-12 sec,
which is much shorter than the full turnover cycle of vesicles (Stevens
and Tsujimoto, 1995 ; Dobrunz and Stevens, 1997 ), suggesting that
immediately releasable vesicle pool was refilled by vesicles located
nearby. In addition, it has been shown that a reduction in the number of synaptic vesicles at the synapse results in the decrease in transmitter release. In the Drosophila mutant,
shits1, a temperature block in
endocytotic retrieval of synaptic vesicles was used to systematically
reduce the number of synaptic vesicles. The amplitude of nerve-evoked
synaptic potentials reduced in parallel with the vesicle number in the
immediate vicinity of release sites (Koenig et al., 1989 ). Furthermore,
in okadaic acid-treated frog nerve-muscle preparations, the FM1-43
vesicle fraction releasable by high K+ stimulation
decreased in parallel with the amplitude of evoked potential (Betz and
Henkel, 1994 ). The total releasable cycling vesicle pool was
significantly reduced at synapses in hippocampal cultures derived from
synapsin I knock-out mice compared to their wild-type counterparts, and
the number of vesicles released during brief trains of action
potentials also decreased (Ryan et al., 1996 ). Taken together, results
of these reports and our present results it seems reasonable to
conclude that the number of vesicles released after arrival of an
action potential is causally related to the size of exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool in the presynaptic terminal.

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|
Figure 7.
Relationship between the size of exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool and the quantal content. The size of exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool (abscissa) and the quantal content (ordinate) were
determined in various preparations in the medium containing 2 mM Ca2+ as described in Results.
Vertical and horizontal bars of each
circle are SEM. FSK, Forskolin-treated
preparations; Cyc.A., cyclosporin
A-treated preparations; Fresh, freshly isolated
nontreated preparations; Severed,
Cyt.D. 2 h, preparations
with axons severed and incubated for 2 hr in HL3 medium containing
cytochalasin D; Intact, 2 h, preparations
with intact axons incubated for 2 hr in HL3 medium;
Severed, 2 h, preparations with axons
severed and incubated for 2 hr in HL3 medium.
|
|
When axons were severed and incubated for 2-3 hr, FM1-43 staining
patterns of boutons were essentially the same as those observed in the
freshly isolated preparation with severed axons. Nevertheless, some of
the fluorescence was not released by high K+
stimulation. Furthermore, when nerve terminals with axons severed were
first loaded with FM1-43 and then incubated, the fluorescence was only
partially released by high K+ stimulation. These
results suggest that some changes occurred in the exo/endo cycling
vesicle pool during incubation in nerve terminals disconnected from the
cell bodies. When cytochalasin B or D was present during the incubation
period, however, the appearance of an FM1-43 fraction unreleased by
high K+ stimulation was prevented. Cytochalasin B
and D are known to disrupt actin polymerization (Cooper, 1987 ; Smith,
1988 ), and it has been proposed that polymerization and
depolymerization of actin molecules occur in intact nerve terminals
(Bernstein and Bamburg, 1989 ; Furukawa et al., 1997 ). The FM1-43
fraction unreleased by high K+ stimulation, which
was observed in nerve terminals with axons severed and incubated for
2-3 hr, had the following features, which are the same as those of the
reserve pool revealed in shits1 (Kuromi
and Kidokoro, 1998a ). (1) The unreleasable FM1-43 fraction by high
K+ stimulation at room temperature was released at
nonpermissive temperature in shits1. (2)
The unreleasable FM1-43 fraction was not detected after the
treatment with cytochalasin D. Therefore, to explain our present results, we suggest that when an axon is severed, the depolymerization is somehow impaired, and filamentous actin becomes dominant, resulting in a decrease in the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool and a
concomitant increase in the size of reserve pool.
Previously using the shits1 mutant, we
have demonstrated that the exo/endo cycling pool of synaptic vesicles
is localized in the periphery of boutons and is released after high
K+ stimulation at permissive temperature (Kuromi and
Kidokoro, 1998a ). On the other hand, the reserve pool of synaptic
vesicles, predominantly located in the central part of boutons, was not
released by high K+ stimulation at permissive
temperature, but released at nonpermissive temperature. In the present
study in wild-type Drosophila larvae, the total amounts of
FM1-43 taken up by boutons were increased by treatment with forskolin
or cyclosporin A. Predominantly, the peripheral region of boutons was
stained after the forskolin treatment, whereas the whole bouton was
labeled with FM1-43 after the cyclosporin A treatment. After high
K+ stimulation, the fluorescence virtually
disappeared in forskolin-treated preparations. On the other hand, in
cyclosporin A-treated preparations, the fluorescence in the center of
boutons remained after the stimulation, although the fluorescence in
the periphery disappeared. These results obtained in wild-type
Drosophila further support the conclusion in
shibire that vesicles in the periphery of boutons are
readily releasable, and those in the center are not.
Both forskolin, a specific activator of adenylyl cyclase (Seamon and
Daly, 1983 ), and dibutyryl cAMP, an analog of cAMP, increased the
FM1-43 fraction released by high K+ stimulation,
suggesting that the increase in the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle
pool may be mediated by an elevation of cAMP in the terminal. The cAMP
cascade enhances synaptic transmission in various preparations
(Goldberg and Singer, 1969 ; Dixon and Atwood, 1989 ) and also increased
the quantal content at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular
junction (Zhong and Wu, 1990 ; Davis et al., 1998 ). Although we cannot
exclude the modulation of ion channels or the direct action on the
exocytotic machinery by cAMP (Kandel and Schwartz, 1982 ; Trudeau et
al., 1996 ), the increase in the size of exo/endo cycling vesicle pool
may be one mechanism for the observed facilitation of synaptic
transmission induced by cAMP, as pointed out by Gingrich and Byrne
(1985) .
In conclusion, previous (Kuromi and Kidokoro, 1998a ) and present
studies support the hypothesis that there are at least two pools of
synaptic vesicles in presynaptic boutons of Drosophila larvae. Vesicles in the exo/endo cycling vesicle pool are primarily responsible for evoked release, and the size of the pool determines the
quantal content of synaptic potentials. The reserve pool is not
directly involved in exocytosis of synaptic vesicles but responsible for sustaining release at high-frequency stimulation.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received Oct. 5, 1998; revised Dec. 7, 1998; accepted Dec. 9, 1998.
This work was supported by grant-in-aids from the Ministry of
Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan to H.K. and Y.K. We
thank Dr. A. D. Grinnell for his critical reading of this manuscript, important suggestions, and improvement of English.
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Hiroshi Kuromi, Institute for
Behavioral Sciences, Gunma University School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi 371-8511, Japan.
 |
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