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Science 25 October 2002:
Vol. 298. no. 5594, pp. 785 - 789
DOI: 10.1126/science.1076386
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Neural and Immunological Synaptic Relations

Michael L. Dustin,1* David R. Colman2*

A synapse is a stable adhesive junction between two cells across which information is relayed by directed secretion. The nervous system and immune system utilize these specialized cell surface contacts to directly convey and transduce highly controlled secretory signals between their constituent cell populations. Each of these synaptic types is built around a microdomain structure comprising central active zones of exocytosis and endocytosis encircled by adhesion domains. Surface molecules that may be incorporated into and around the active zones contribute to modulation of the functional state of the synapse.

1 Program in Molecular Pathogenesis, Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016 USA.
2 Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dustin{at}saturn.med.nyu.edu (M.L.D.); david.colman{at}mcgill.ca (D.R.C.)

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