Leica Scientific Forum DE with Erik M. Jorgensen

October 25-27, 2011: Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis: Revisiting Heuser and Reese in the 21st Century

Erik M. Jorgensen

Howard Hughes Medical Insitute, Utah/US

"Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis: Revisiting Heuser and Reese in the 21st Century"

Venues:

• Leica Scientific Forum Berlin - Chair: Stephan Sigrist (FU Berlin)
  Tuesday, October 25 - 16h00
  Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auditorium "Kristallographie", Takustr. 6, 14195 Berlin
• Leica Scientific Forum Heidelberg - Chair: Rainer Pepperkok (EMBL)Wednesday, October 26 – 16h00
  Communication Center, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ),
  Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg
• Leica Scientific Forum Munich - Chair: Ulrike Gaul (LMU)
  Thursday, October 27 – 12h30
  Auditorium B00.019, Biozentrum, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried  

Lecture

In 1973 John Heuser and Tom Reese proved the long-standing notion that neurotransmitter is released at synapses by the fusion of synaptic vesicles. Their data also suggested that synaptic vesicles are recycled at synapses via a clathrin-mediated process. An alternative model was simultaneously put forward that vesicles do not collapse into the membrane but rather are rapidly recycled by ‘kiss-and-run’.

The controversy is unresolved today – do vesicles collapse into the membrane and are recycled slowly by building a clathrin scaffold around them? Or do they retain their existence via ‘kiss-and-run’?  Since then, molecular pathways for fusion and recycling have been put forward, but the field remains divided.  The existence of molecular models allows us to revisit the controversy and test these models by studying mutants in C. elegans that lack the relevant molecules.

Finally, we are trying to reproduce and extend the famous Heuser and Reese experiment, and perhaps resolve this abiding controversy in neuroscience.

Invitation

The Scientific Advisory Board DE cordially invites you to meet Erik M. Jorgensen at the post lecture receptions for personal discussion.

The Board 

• Berlin:
  Prof. Dr. Michael Brecht (Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University Berlin)
  Prof. Dr. Stephan Sigrist (Freie Universität Berlin)
• Heidelberg
  Prof. Dr. Winfried Denk (Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg)
  Prof. Dr. Roland Eils (German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg)
  Prof. Dr. Stefan Hell (Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen and DKFZ, Heidelberg)
  Dr. Rainer Pepperkok (European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg)
• Munich
  Prof. Dr. Hermann Gaub (Center for Nanoscience, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich)
  Prof. Dr. Ulrike Gaul (Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich)
  Prof. Dr. Arthur Konnerth (Technical University Munich (TUM))

and Dr. Thomas Zapf (Leica Microsystems)

Registration

All lectures are free of charge. For organizational reasons, we would appreciate your email registration.