title: SNARE proteins--why so many, why so few?
abstract: Both trafficking and secretion critically depend on accurate and specific membrane recognition and fusion. A key step in these processes is the assembly of a complex consisting of a small number of proteins, i.e., the exocytic core complex. In nerve terminals, this set consists of VAMP and synaptotagmin, which reside at membranes of synaptic vesicles, and syntaxin and SNAP-25 at the plasma membrane. In this survey, different secretory systems that depend on the exocytic core proteins are considered. The possibility that specificity in membrane recognition and fusion is achieved by the numerous variants of proteins of the exocytic core is discussed. Variability of the core complex proteins is determined by the complexity of gene families, isoform-specific localization, and posttranslational modifications. Basic biochemical properties depend on specific isoforms, and the possible protein-protein interactions are determined, in turn, by the compatibility of different isoforms. A correlation between specific variants and distinct biochemical or cellular properties is shown. The outcome of this survey is that heterogeneity in secretion may be dictated by the large number of possible combinations of variants of only a few proteins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry and the Otto Loewi Center for Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Linial
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D019281:Dimerization; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000502:physiology*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005810:Multigene Family; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000502:physiology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D050683:R-SNARE Proteins; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000502:physiology*; D050825:Synaptosomal-Associated Protein 25; D050857:Synaptotagmins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D050683:R-SNARE Proteins; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D050825:Synaptosomal-Associated Protein 25; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D050857:Synaptotagmins