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PMID: 23060190 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review

Molecular machines governing exocytosis of synaptic vesicles.

Nature ·Vol. 490 ·No. 7419 ·2012-10-11 ·Pages 201-7

Jahn R, Fasshauer D

Abstract

Calcium-dependent exocytosis of synaptic vesicles mediates the release of neurotransmitters. Important proteins in this process have been identified such as the SNAREs, synaptotagmins, complexins, Munc18 and Munc13. Structural and functional studies have yielded a wealth of information about the physiological role of these proteins. However, it has been surprisingly difficult to arrive at a unified picture of the molecular sequence of events from vesicle docking to calcium-triggered membrane fusion. Using mainly a biochemical and biophysical perspective, we briefly survey the molecular mechanisms in an attempt to functionally integrate the key proteins into the emerging picture of the neuronal fusion machine.

MeSH Terms
Animals Calcium/metabolism Exocytosis/physiology Humans Lipid Metabolism Models, Biological SNARE Proteins/chemistry,metabolism Synaptic Vesicles/physiology
Chemicals
SNARE Proteins Calcium
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Jahn Reinhard
Department of Neurobiology, Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. rjahn@gwdg.de
Fasshauer Dirk
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Article Info
Journal
Nature
Abbr.
Nature
ISSN
1476-4687
DOI
10.1038/nature11320
Email
rjahn@gwdg.de
Published
2012-10-11
Pages
201-7
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
0410462
PMCID
PMC4461657
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · P01 GM072694 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · 3P01GM072694-05S1 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1038/nature11320 PMC Full Text View journal details
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