ORGANIZERS:
Daphne Atlas, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Itzchak Parnas, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and hormones are released in a calcium-regulated fusion of synaptic vesicles in neuronal cells and large dense-core vesicles in neuroendocrine cells. This is a major physiological process in biology in general, and in neurobiology in particular, which is physiologically triggered by the opening of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC) that are involved in a large variety of cellular Ca(2+) signaling processes. The workshop will be devoted mainly to the mechanistic aspect of this release process. The main issues that will be discussed involve the identity of the Ca2+ sensory protein and the role of GTP-binding protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) in the triggering of secretion.