Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 11, 2026

Analysis of SNARE-mediated Membrane Fusion Using an Enzymatic Cell Fusion Assay
Published on: October 19, 2012
Synaptotagmin-1 docks secretory vesicles to syntaxin-1/SNAP-25 acceptor complexes
Heidi de Wit1, Alexander M Walter, Ira Milosevic
1Department of Functional Genomics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and VU Medical Center, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Docking, the initial association of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane, precedes formation of the SNARE complex, which drives membrane fusion. For many years, the molecular identity of the docked state, and especially the vesicular docking protein, has been unknown, as has the link to SNARE complex assembly. Here, using adrenal chromaffin cells, we identify the vesicular docking partner as synaptotagmin-1, the calcium sensor for exocytosis, and SNAP-25 as an essential plasma membrane docking factor, which, together with the previously known docking factors Munc18-1 and syntaxin, form the minimal docking machinery. Moreover, we show that the requirement for Munc18-1 in docking, but not fusion, can be overcome by stabilizing syntaxin/SNAP-25 acceptor complexes. These findings, together with cross-rescue, double-knockout, and electrophysiological data, lead us to propose that vesicles dock when synaptotagmin-1 binds to syntaxin/SNAP-25 acceptor complexes, whereas Munc18-1 is required for the downstream association of synaptobrevin to form fusogenic SNARE complexes.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Secretory Vesicles
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles
SNAREs and Membrane Fusion
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
Vesicular Tubular Clusters
With the help of motor proteins such...
Clathrin Coated Vesicles

