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. 2014 Aug 11;6:208. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2014.00208

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Copyright © 2014 Gonzalez-Freire, de Cabo, Studenski and Ferrucci.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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The architecture of a neuromuscular junction (NMJ). (A, B) The NMJ is composed of three elements: pre-synaptic (motor nerve terminal), intrasynaptic (synaptic basal lamina), and post-synaptic component (muscle fiber and muscle membrane) (Punga and Ruegg, 2012). When the action potential reaches the motor nerve terminal the calcium channels open and the calcium enters in the neuron and delivers ACh in the synaptic cleft. (C) AChR activates the DHPRs located in the sarcolemma and by induction the RyRs. Calcium released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum through the RyRs binds to troponin C and allows cross-bridge cycling and force production.