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Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology
The Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter Is Required For Neuromuscular Development And Function, Braulio M. De Castro, Xavier De Jaeger, Cristina Martins-Silva, Ricardo D. F. Lima, Ernani Amaral, Cristiane Menezes, Patricia Lima, Cintia M. L. Neves, Rita G. Pires, Thomas W. Gould, Ian Welch, Christopher Kushmerick, Cristina Guatimosim, Ivan Izquierdo, Martin Cammarota, Jane R. Rylett, Marcus V. Gomez, Marc G. Caron, Ronald W. Oppenheim, Marco A. M. Prado, Vania F. Prado
The Vesicular Acetylcholine Transporter Is Required For Neuromuscular Development And Function, Braulio M. De Castro, Xavier De Jaeger, Cristina Martins-Silva, Ricardo D. F. Lima, Ernani Amaral, Cristiane Menezes, Patricia Lima, Cintia M. L. Neves, Rita G. Pires, Thomas W. Gould, Ian Welch, Christopher Kushmerick, Cristina Guatimosim, Ivan Izquierdo, Martin Cammarota, Jane R. Rylett, Marcus V. Gomez, Marc G. Caron, Ronald W. Oppenheim, Marco A. M. Prado, Vania F. Prado
Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications
The vesicular acetylcholine (ACh) transporter (VAChT) mediates ACh storage by synaptic vesicles. However, the VAChT-independent release of ACh is believed to be important during development. Here we generated VAChT knockout mice and tested the physiological relevance of the VAChT-independent release of ACh. Homozygous VAChT knockout mice died shortly after birth, indicating that VAChT-mediated storage of ACh is essential for life. Indeed, synaptosomes obtained from brains of homozygous knockouts were incapable of releasing ACh in response to depolarization. Surprisingly, electrophysiological recordings at the skeletal-neuromuscular junction show that VAChT knockout mice present spontaneous miniature end-plate potentials with reduced amplitude and frequency, which …