Decoding Neuropeptide Secretion
Brain cells communicate with each other by releasing small vesicles with signaling substances. Some vesicles ensure rapid communication between brain cells. Others, called dense-core vesicles (DCVs), work more slowly and release substances that affect important processes such as sleep, metabolism, stress and brain development.
Although DCVs are important for the functioning of the brain, we do not yet know exactly how their release is regulated and how this process is disrupted in brain diseases.
We have shown that brain cells precisely regulate their slow release of signals via DCVs using different proteins. These proteins determine when the vesicles release their contents and how efficiently this happens. This form of communication appears to work differently from the rapid signal transmission between brain cells.
An important conclusion is that the same proteins do not have the same role in all brain cells. The type of brain cell therefore partly determines how these vesicles are controlled.
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