Abstract
In neuroscience, much attention is paid to intercellular interactions, in particular, to synapses. However, many researchers do not pay due attention to the contribution of intracellular contacts to the work of intercellular interactions. Nevertheless, along with synapses, intracellular contacts also have complex organization and a tremendous number of regulatory elements. Mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contacts (MERCs) are a specific site of interaction between the two organelles; they provide a basis for a large number of cellular functions, such as calcium homeostasis, lipid metabolism, autophagy, and apoptosis. Despite the presence of these contacts in various parts of neurons and glial cells, it is yet not known whether they fulfill the same functions. There are still many unsolved questions about the work of these intracellular contacts, and one of the most important among them is if MERCs, with their broad implication into synaptic events, can be considered the assistant to neurotransmission?
Highlights
Synaptic transmission is a complex process of communication between neuronal and target cells (Meriney and Fanselow, 2019)
In the last few years, multiple studies of mitochondriaendoplasmic reticulum interactions in neuronal cells were carried out, and valuable data that elucidate the role and functions of Mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum contacts (MERCs) related to synaptic transmission were obtained (Gómez-Suaga et al, 2019; Dematteis et al, 2020; Liao et al, 2020; Perrone et al, 2020)
Numerous data confirm the participation of MERCs in the regulation of cell functions such as calcium and lipid homeostasis, fission and mobility of mitochondria, autophagy, and the initiation of apoptosis, in particular, in neuronal cells
Summary
Synaptic transmission is a complex process of communication between neuronal and target cells (Meriney and Fanselow, 2019). As well as in non-neuronal cells, MERCs were characterized in cells across the central nervous system, mostly in neurons (Gómez-Suaga et al, 2019), while, in astrocytes (Goebel et al, 2019), the data are scarce, and there is only indirect evidence of MERCs’ presence in microglia (Xie et al, 2017), and oligodendrocytes (Simpson et al, 1997) Due to their distribution and carried out functions, it is brought into question whether MERCs can play a significant role in synaptic transmission and serve as an important link connecting mechanisms in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, MERCs, Novel Assistant to Neurotransmission?. The question brought to the discussion is whether MERCs could be considered an important assistant to neurotransmission
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