Topic: Active transport

Living Systems often seem to follow, in addition to external constraints and interactions, an intrinsic predictive model of the world — a defining trait of Anticipatory Systems. Here we study rhythmic behaviour in Caulerpa, a marine green alga, which appears to predict the day/night light cycle. Caulerpa consists of differentiated organs resembling leaves, stems and roots. While an individual can exceed a meter in size, it is a single multinucleated giant cell. Active transport has been hypothesized to play a key role in organismal development. It has been an open question in the literature wh

Understanding how neurons regulate their protein composition to refine synaptic connections across millimeters of space provides critical insights into the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. The discovery of local protein synthesis in subcellular compartments has shown how neuronal activity can locally meet the metabolic demands of synaptic plasticity$^{1,2}$. Despite the experimental challenges posed by the long and complex branches of axons, the presence of mRNA and local protein synthesis in presynaptic boutons has been clearly demonstrated$^{3,5}$. In this study, we developed an in silico

AMPA receptors (AMPARs) mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission and participate in memory formation. Synaptic strength is proportional to the number of AMPARs in the postsynaptic membrane. Previous models of AMPA receptor trafficking can explain their fast, brief incorporation in dendritic spines after LTP induction but offer limited insights into long-lasting changes in AMPAR content at potentiated spines[1,2]. Hence, a unified modeling framework is necessary to understand persistent synaptic changes in AMPAR numbers. Molecular trafficking, such as diffusion, active transport, endo/exocytos