Synaptic vesicle

A small membrane-bound compartment in a neuron’s presynaptic terminal that stores neurotransmitters and releases them into the synaptic cleft by exocytosis.

Vesicular neurotransmitter transporter: A membrane protein that uses an electrochemical gradient to load neurotransmitters into synaptic vesicles. These transporters fill vesicles with the chemical signals they will release.
Neurotransmitter: A chemical messenger released by neurons to affect another cell. Neurotransmitters are the cargo stored inside synaptic vesicles.
Botulinum toxin: A bacterial neurotoxin that cleaves SNARE proteins and blocks neurotransmitter release. Its paralysis-producing action directly disrupts synaptic vesicle fusion.
Dense-core vesicle: A large secretory vesicle that stores neuropeptides and other signaling molecules for regulated release. Unlike typical small synaptic vesicles, dense-core vesicles often release peptides beyond active zones.
Bernard Katz: A physiologist who established the quantal nature of neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junction. His measurements linked miniature responses to packets released from vesicles.
Synaptotagmin: A family of membrane proteins that bind calcium and help trigger synaptic vesicle fusion. Calcium binding to synaptotagmin helps convert an action potential into vesicle release.
Synaptic cleft: The narrow extracellular gap between a presynaptic terminal and its target cell. Vesicles release their contents across this gap.
Tetanus toxin: A bacterial neurotoxin that cleaves synaptobrevin and disrupts inhibitory neurotransmitter release. It reaches inhibitory neurons and prevents their vesicles from releasing cargo.
Synaptic vesicle recycling pool: The reserve of synaptic vesicles that can be retrieved and reused after neurotransmitter release. Recycled vesicles supply later rounds of release rather than forming a separate vesicle type.
Quantal hypothesis: The proposal that neurotransmitters are released in discrete packets, or quanta. The hypothesis helped identify vesicles as physical units of transmitter release.

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