Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) are a
family of small conserved eukaryotic proteins that mediate membrane fusion between …

Calcium-dependent exocytosis of synaptic vesicles mediates the release of
neurotransmitters. Important proteins in this process have been identified such as the …

Membrane fusion is a key process in all living organisms that contributes to a variety of
biological processes including viral infection, cell fertilization, as well as intracellular …

Eukaryotic cells have been confronted throughout their evolution with potentially lethal
plasma membrane injuries, including those caused by osmotic stress, by infection from …

The various membranes of eukaryotic cells differ in composition, but it is at present unclear if
this results in differences in physical properties. The sequences of transmembrane domains …

SNARE proteins and Sec1/Munc18 (SM) proteins constitute the core molecular engine that
drives nearly all intracellular membrane fusion and exocytosis. While SNAREs are known to …

Extensive research has yielded crucial insights into the mechanism of neurotransmitter
release, and working models for the functions of key proteins involved in release. The …

Soluble N-ethylmaleimide–sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins
drive membrane fusion by assembling into a four-helix bundle in a zippering process. Here …

Synaptic vesicles are primed into a state that is ready for fast neurotransmitter release upon
Ca 2+-binding to Synaptotagmin-1. This state likely includes trans-SNARE complexes …

Neurotransmitter release is governed by proteins that have homo-logs in most types of
intracellular membrane fusion, including the Sec1/Munc18 protein Munc18-1 and the …