A kinetic model for chemical neurotransmission

Recent experimental observations in presynaptic terminals at the neuromuscular junction indicate that there are stereotyped patterns of cooperativeness in the fusion of adjacent vesicles. That is, a vesicle in hemifusion process appears on the side of a fused vesicle and which is followed by another vesicle in a priming state while the next one is in a docking state. In this talk we present a kinetic model for this morphological pattern in which each vesicle state previous to the exocytosis is represented by a kinetic state. This chain states kinetic model can be analyzed by means of a Master equation whose solution is simulated with the stochastic Gillespie algorithm. With this approach we have reproduced the responses to the basal release in the absence of stimulation evoked by the electrical activity and the phenomena of facilitation and depression of neuromuscular synapses. This model offers new perspectives to understand the underlying phenomena in chemical neurotransmission based on molecular interactions that result in the cooperativity between vesicles during neurotransmitter release.