An organelle arrangement comprised of the following elements: a mitochondrion positioned near the presynaptic membrane; an electron-dense mitochondrial plaque adjacent to the outer mitochondrial membrane that faces the presynaptic membrane; filament-like elements appearing to link the mitochondrial plaque to a cell-cell junction region (sometimes termed punctum adherens); tubular or vesicular-appearing membrane (also called vesicular chain) interposed among the filaments. Mitochondrion-associated adherens complexes were initially described in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. They are found in calyces and other large terminals of the auditory brainstem, and in a variety of mammalian species including humans.
MAC