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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Imaging FITC-dextran as a Reporter for Regulated Exocytosis
Published on: June 20, 2018
Structural insights into the molecular mechanism of Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis
1Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. brunger@laplace.csb.yale.edu
Abstract:
The fusion of vesicles with target membranes is controlled by a complex network of protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions. Recent structures of the SNARE complex, synaptotagmin III, nSec1, domains of NSF and its adaptor SNAP, along with Rab3 and some of its effectors, provide the framework for developing molecular models of vesicle fusion and for designing experiments to test these models. Ultimately, this knowledge of the structures of higher-order complexes and their dynamic behavior will allow us to obtain a full understanding of the vesicle fusion protein machinery.
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