Glutamate triggers translocation of PKCγ (green) into spines. The postsynaptic marker PSD95 is in red.
In response to stimulation, signaling molecules move through cells to newly available binding sites at a rate consistent with random diffusion. In round cells, such diffusible signals reach different regions of the membrane at nearly the same time. To find out what happens in cells with complex morphologies, such as neurons that have thick and thin branches and spines, Craske et al. employed confocal video microscopy of YFP-labeled protein kinase C (PKC) movement following glutamate stimulation.PKC moved rapidly to the plasma membrane of the soma and thick branches, but arrived at the membrane of thin branches and spines several seconds later. Moreover,...
