High cholesterol obviates a prolonged hemifusion intermediate in fast SNARE-mediated membrane fusion.

ABSTRACT: Cholesterol is essential for exocytosis in secretory cells, but the exact molecular mechanism by which it facilitates exocytosis is largely unknown. Distinguishing contributions from the lateral organization and dynamics of membrane proteins to vesicle docking and fusion and the promotion of fusion pores by negative intrinsic spontaneous curvature and other mechanical effects of cholesterol have been elusive. To shed more light on this process, we examined the effect of cholesterol on SNARE-mediated membrane fusion in a single-vesicle assay that is capable of resolving docking and elementary steps of fusion with millisecond time resolution. The effect of cholesterol on fusion pore formation between synaptobrevin-2 (VAMP-2)-containing proteoliposomes and acceptor t-SNARE complex-containing

SUBMITTER: Kreutzberger AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4621810 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature