Structural insights into the molecular mechanism of calcium-dependent vesicle-membrane fusion.
The fusion of vesicles with target membranes is controlled by a complex network of protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. Recently determined structures of the SNARE complex, synaptotagmin III, nSec1, domains of the NSF chaperone and its adaptor (SNAP), and Rab3 and some of its effectors provide the framework for developing molecular models of vesicle fusion and for designing experiments to test these models. Ultimately, knowledge of the structures of higher-order complexes and their dynamic behavior will be required to obtain a full understanding of the vesicle fusion protein machinery.
Brunger
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AT
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. axel.brunger@stanford.edu
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000502:physiology*; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D052066:N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D052067:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Proteins; D050857:Synaptotagmins; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D020826:rab3A GTP-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C075137:SEC17 protein, S cerevisiae; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D052067:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D050857:Synaptotagmins; D052066:N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Proteins; D020826:rab3A GTP-Binding Protein; D002118:Calcium