SNAREs: Could they be the answer to an energy landscape riddle in exocytosis?

15Citations
Citations of this article
21Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

During exocytosis, chemical transmitters stored in secretory vesicles can be released upon fusion of these intracellular organelles to the plasma membrane. In this process, SNARE proteins that form a ternary core complex play a central role. This complex could provide the means for generation/storage of energy necessary for driving the fusion of vesicular and plasma membranes. Recently, the amount of energy for (dis)assembly of the ternary complex has been measured using various experimental approaches, including atomic force microscopy, the surface force apparatus, and isothermal titration calorimetry. The obtained measurements are in good agreement with the calculated energy required for membrane fusion achieved by theoretical modeling approaches. Whether the energy expenditure to form the ternary SNARE complex can be utilized towards membrane fusion and/or docking/tethering of vesicles to the plasma membrane still remains one of the key contemporary issues in biophysics and neuroscience. ©2010 with author.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Liu, W., & Parpura, V. (2010, June 29). SNAREs: Could they be the answer to an energy landscape riddle in exocytosis? TheScientificWorldJournal. https://doi.org/10.1100/tsw.2010.137

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free