Zinc ions released from synaptic terminals bind postsynaptic ionotropic glutamate receptors, modulating synaptic strength. With the use of Zn-selective fluorescent probes and fast chelating agents, the role of this mobile zinc has been uncovered. With collaborators, studies of hippocampal, auditory, and olfactory bulb synapses reveal what appears to be a general role for mobile zinc. It down-regulates, and thereby tunes, neuronal transmission in response to electrophysiologically (in slices) and behaviorally (in live animals) induced release of Zn<sup>2+</sup> from presynaptic vesicles.

Tracking mobile zinc in the brain - new probes, new biology

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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