Review abstract
Focus on Membrane Fusion
- Focus issue:
- Julember 2008 Volume 15, No 7
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 15, 684 - 689 (2008)
Published online: 3 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nsmb.1449
The fusion pores of Ca2+-triggered exocytosis
Meyer B Jackson1 & Edwin R Chapman1,2
Abstract
The aqueous compartment inside a vesicle makes its first connection with the extracellular fluid through an intermediate structure termed the exocytotic fusion pore. Progress in exocytosis can be measured in terms of the formation and growth of the fusion pore. The fusion pore has become a major focus of research in exocytosis; sensitive biophysical measurements have provided various glimpses of what it looks like and how it behaves. Some of the principal questions about the molecular mechanism of exocytosis can be cast explicitly in terms of properties and transitions of fusion pores. This Review will present current knowledge about fusion pores in Ca2+-triggered exocytosis, highlight recent advances and relate questions about fusion pores to broader issues concerning how cells regulate exocytosis and how nerve terminals release neurotransmitter.
- Department of Physiology, SMI 127, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, SMI 127, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1300 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Correspondence to: Meyer B Jackson1 e-mail: mjackson@physiology.wisc.edu
Correspondence to: Edwin R Chapman1,2 e-mail: chapman@physiology.wisc.edu
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