AUTHOR=Lees Robert M. , Johnson James D. , Ashby Michael C. 

TITLE=Presynaptic Boutons That Contain Mitochondria Are More Stable

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/synaptic-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsyn.2019.00037

DOI=10.3389/fnsyn.2019.00037

ISSN=1663-3563

ABSTRACT=<p>The addition and removal of presynaptic terminals reconfigures neuronal circuits of the mammalian neocortex, but little is known about how this presynaptic structural plasticity is controlled. Since mitochondria can regulate presynaptic function, we investigated whether the presence of axonal mitochondria relates to the structural plasticity of presynaptic boutons in mouse neocortex. We found that the overall density of axonal mitochondria did not appear to influence the loss and gain of boutons. However, positioning of mitochondria at individual presynaptic sites did relate to increased stability of those boutons. In line with this, synaptic localization of mitochondria increased as boutons aged and showed differing patterns of localization at <italic>en passant</italic> and <italic>terminaux</italic> boutons. These results suggest that mitochondria accumulate locally at boutons over time to increase bouton stability.</p>