title: A multisubunit particle implicated in membrane fusion.
abstract: The N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein (NSF) is required for fusion of lipid bilayers at many locations within eukaryotic cells. Binding of NSF to Golgi membranes is known to require an integral membrane receptor and one or more members of a family of related soluble NSF attachment proteins (alpha-, beta-, and gamma-SNAPs). Here we demonstrate the direct interaction of NSF, SNAPs and an integral membrane component in a detergent solubilized system. We show that NSF only binds to SNAPs in the presence of the integral receptor, resulting in the formation of a multisubunit protein complex with a sedimentation coefficient of 20S. Particle assembly reveals striking differences between members of the SNAP protein family; gamma-SNAP associates with the complex via a binding site distinct from that used by alpha- and beta-SNAPs, which are themselves equivalent, alternative subunits of the particle. Once formed, the 20S particle is subsequently able to disassemble in a process coupled to the hydrolysis of ATP. We suggest how cycles of complex assembly and disassembly could help confer specificity to the generalized NSF-dependent fusion apparatus.
authors.affiliation: Program in Cellular Biochemistry and Biophysics, Rockefeller Research Laboratory, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York 10021.
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Whiteheart
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiedmann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Rothman
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008954:Models, Biological; D052066:N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Proteins; D051381:Rats; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism*; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D052066:N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Proteins; C498737:Nsf protein, rat