Modelling receptor trafficking on membrane of neurons in the brain
Tamara Kloek
Supervisors: Fred Vermolen and
Remy
Kusters from TU Eindhoven
Site of the project: TU Delft
start of the project: March 2015
In June 2015 the
Interim Thesis
has appeared and a
presentation
has been given.
The Master project has been finished in December 2015
by the completion of the
Masters Thesis
and a final
presentation
has been given.
For working address etc. we refer to our
alumnipage.
Summary of the master project:
Diffusive processes on curved surfaces are very relevant for cellular
processes and are increasingly used to characterize the behavior of
proteins in cell membranes. More specifically, neurotransmitter
receptors
are present in the cell membranes of neurons (nerve cells) and are
important for the signal transduction at synapses, which are the
specializations through which neurons communicate. The morphology of the
cell membrane at these synapses is non-trivial and this shape strongly
affects the receptor diffusion [1].
The typical shape of a single synapse and its impact on the diffusive
process has been studied [1,2]. An open question however is how this
shape
affects the cross-talk between multiple synapses connected to the same
dendrite. In other words, how does the release of receptors in one
synapse
influence the concentration in neighboring synapses. To study this we
set
up a diffusion model that integrates the morphology of multiple
synapses.
[1] Kusters, R., Kapitein, L. C., Hoogenraad, C. C., & Storm, C. (2013).
Shape-induced asymmetric diffusion in dendritic spines allows efficient
synaptic AMPA receptor trapping. *Biophysical journal*, *105*(12),
2743-2750.
[2] Kusters, R., & Storm, C. (2014). Impact of morphology on diffusive
dynamics on curved surfaces. *Physical Review E*, *89*(3), 032723.
Contact information:
Kees
Vuik
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