The Neuromuscular Junction in Health and Disease
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 17946
Special Issue Editors
Interests: synapse; exocytosis; endocytosis; neuromuscular junction; neurotransmission; spinal muscular atrophy; synaptic proteins; mitochondria
Interests: spinal muscular atrophy; neurodegeneration; motor neurons; hyperexcitability; NMJ; RNA methylation
Special Issue Information
Spinal motor neurons use a very specialized synapse, the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), to drive skeletal muscle movements. Our knowledge of the NMJ’s structure and function has been the basis for understanding chemical synapses in the nervous system. Due to its large size and experimental accessibility in many organism models, the NMJ can be studied at different stages, from embryonic to adulthood. Advances in genetic, molecular biology, and super-resolution microscopy techniques have allowed us to address new aspects of the NMJ’s molecular organization and regulation in health and disease. Of increasing interest are, for example, the interplay between the synaptic nanomachines (i.e., synaptic vesicles, mitochondria, endosomes, active zones, and the cytoskeleton), the function of the pre- and postsynaptic adhesion proteins, the dialog and interdependence between the pre- and postsynaptic elements, and the regulatory mechanisms for synaptic protein expression and function during development, maturation, and aging. Moreover, we are starting to better understand the electrophysiological and morphological deficits in this synapse that produce neuromuscular transmission disorders ranging from congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMSs) to Lambert–Eaton Syndrome and Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
This Special Issue aims to summarize our current understanding of the most important and novel aspects of the NMJ's physiology and pathophysiology.
Prof. Lucia Tabares
Dr. Saravanan Arumugam
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- synaptic proteins
- synaptopathies
- exocytosis
- neurotransmitter secretion
- myasthenic syndromes
- spinal muscular atrophy
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