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Biological Chemistry

Zinc on the brain

December 4, 2006 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 84, Issue 49

For decades, neurobiologists have noticed that synaptic vesicles in some neurons contain high concentrations of zinc ions. But a conclusive role for the metal in synaptic transmission couldn't be established, until now. A research team led by Heinrich Betz of the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, in Frankfurt, Germany, has shown that zinc modulates the synaptic activity of some brain cells that use glycine as a neurotransmitter (Neuron 2006, 52, 679). To prove zinc's role in neural function, the researchers introduced a point mutation into mice that disrupts the interaction between a glycine neurotransmitter receptor and zinc. The modified mice walked with an abnormal gait, experienced tremors, and were easily startled by sound. This behavior mimics that of humans who suffer from hyperekplexia, an inherited disease caused by a mutation that disrupts the same receptor the researchers altered in the mice. This work is deemed important because it directly demonstrates that zinc ions act as endogenous modulators of synaptic transmission.

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