Consequences of Molecular-Level Ca2+ Channel and Synaptic Vesicle Colocalization for the Ca2+ Microdomain and Neurotransmitter Exocytosis: A Monte Carlo Study

Morphological and biochemical studies indicate association between voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and the vesicle docking complex at vertebrate presynaptic active zones, which constrain the separation between some Ca2+ channels and vesicles to 20 nm or less. To address the effect of the precise geometrical relationship among the vesicles, the Ca2+ channel, and the proteins of the release machinery on neurotransmitter release, we developed a Monte...