Development of synaptic junctions in cerebellar glomeruli.

In the glomerular synapses of developing mouse cerebellar cortex, 2 components of the synaptic junctions assemble independently in the immature granule cell dendrites, and then combine. 'Initial' junctions between mossy fiber axons and immature granule cell dendrites have presynaptic and postsynaptic electron-dense fuzz and a widened synaptic cleft, but lack the aggregate of intramembrane particles associated with the extracellular half of the postsynaptic membrane which characterizes mature synaptic junctions. In the vicinity of 'initial junctions' there are particle aggregates which resemble those at mature synaptic junctions, but which are less densely packed and which are not associated with the other features of a junction. The constituent particles of these aggregates move to the sites of 'initial junctions' to combine with them and form 'immature synaptic junctions'. Many of these immature junctions are larger in area than mature synaptic junctions. The immature junctions accumulate a fairly uniform complement of intramembrane particles, which increase in packing density as the junctions decrease in area and attain smaller, adult size.