title: Single-molecule studies of SNARE complex assembly reveal parallel and antiparallel configurations.
abstract: Vesicle fusion in eukaryotes is thought to involve the assembly of a highly conserved family of proteins termed soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) into a highly stable parallel four-helix bundle. We have used intermolecular single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer to characterize preassembled neuronal SNARE complexes consisting of syntaxin, synaptobrevin, and synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa on deposited lipid bilayers. Surprisingly, we found a mixture of parallel as well as antiparallel configurations involving the SNARE motifs of syntaxin and synaptobrevin as well as those of syntaxin and synaptosome-associated protein of 25 kDa. The subpopulation with the parallel four-helix bundle configuration could be greatly enriched by an additional purification step in the presence of denaturant, indicating that the parallel configuration is the energetically most favorable state. Interconversion between the configurations was not observed. From this observation, we infer the conversion rate to be <1.5 h-1. The existence of antiparallel configurations suggests a regulatory role of chaperones, such as N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor, or the membrane environment during SNARE complex assembly in vivo, and it could be a partial explanation for the relatively slow rates of vesicle fusion observed by reconstituted fusion experiments in vitro.
authors.affiliation: The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4060, USA.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weninger
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Axel T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Brunger
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D015723:Gene Library; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D050683:R-SNARE Proteins; D051381:Rats; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D050683:R-SNARE Proteins; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins