Lumenal protein within secretory granules affects fusion pore expansion.

ABSTRACT: It is often assumed that upon fusion of the secretory granule membrane with the plasma membrane, lumenal contents are rapidly discharged and dispersed into the extracellular medium. Although this is the case for low-molecular-weight neurotransmitters and some proteins, there are numerous examples of the dispersal of a protein being delayed for many seconds after fusion. We have investigated the role of fusion-pore expansion in determining the contrasting discharge rates of fluorescent-tagged neuropeptide-Y (NPY) (within 200 ms) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) (over many seconds) in adrenal chromaffin cells. The endogenous proteins are expressed in separate chromaffin cell subpopulations. Fusion pore expansion was measured by two independent methods, orientation of a fluorescent prob

SUBMITTER: Weiss AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4119268 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature