Nano-organization of GABAergic Transmission in Neuronal Signaling

This application note documents a webinar featuring Natalie Guzikowski from the Kavalali Lab at Vanderbilt University, focusing on their research into proteins involved in postsynaptic signaling within inhibitory synapses. The lab employs dSTORM, a super-resolution imaging technique, alongside electrophysiology to investigate the nano-organization of synaptic proteins, particularly the scaffold protein gephyrin. The study outlines how gephyrin's structure impacts GABAergic transmission. The researchers utilized artemisinins to probe gephyrin's function, revealing that treatment led to a decrease in gephyrin cluster volume without affecting VGAT clusters. They performed density and spatial proximity analyses to assess changes in molecular organization. The findings indicate a selective downregulation of spontaneous neurotransmission while maintaining evoked neurotransmission, highlighting the role of gephyrin in synaptic function. The research contributes to understanding the mechanisms of neurotransmission and the structural dynamics at inhibitory synapses.