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Related Concept Videos

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane01:26

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane

Proteins and neurotransmitters in secretory vesicles can be released from a cell upon vesicle docking, priming, and fusion with the plasma membrane. Vesicles are docked and primed in preparation for the quick exocytosis of their contents in response to a stimulus. The fusion process is mainly carried out by a SNAP Receptor or SNARE complex, consisting of synaptobrevin, syntaxin-1, and SNAP-25.
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...

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Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae
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Structure parameters of synaptic vesicles quantified by small-angle x-ray scattering.

Simon Castorph1, Dietmar Riedel, Lise Arleth

  • 1Institut für Röntgenphysik, Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. scastor@gwdg.de

Biophysical Journal
|April 8, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Synaptic vesicles (SVs) are vital for neurotransmission. New research reveals their supramolecular structure, detailing protein layers and lipid bilayers, and suggesting the presence of protein microdomains for enhanced function.

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Last Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae
09:15

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae

Published on: January 10, 2018

Preparation of Newborn Rat Brain Tissue for Ultrastructural Morphometric Analysis of Synaptic Vesicle Distribution at Nerve Terminals
10:09

Preparation of Newborn Rat Brain Tissue for Ultrastructural Morphometric Analysis of Synaptic Vesicle Distribution at Nerve Terminals

Published on: June 7, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Synaptic vesicles (SVs) are essential for neurotransmission, mediating neurotransmitter release and recycling.
  • Understanding SV supramolecular structure is critical for elucidating membrane fusion, retrieval, and recycling mechanisms.
  • Previous research focused on molecular composition, lacking empirical structural data at the supramolecular level.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To directly investigate the size and structure of purified synaptic vesicles.
  • To develop a supramolecular model of SVs, including protein layers and lipid bilayer.
  • To identify novel structural features of synaptic vesicles.

Main Methods:

  • Purification of synaptic vesicles.
  • Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis.
  • Development of a laterally anisotropic structural model for data fitting.

Main Results:

  • Detailed size and density parameters for SV protein layers and lipid bilayer were deduced.
  • A laterally anisotropic protein shell model was required for a convincing fit to SAXS data.
  • The model confirms existing ideas about SV structure and reveals novel details, including protein microdomains.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides the first empirical description of synaptic vesicle supramolecular structure.
  • The findings support a laterally anisotropic protein shell and suggest the presence of protein microdomains.
  • This structural insight is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of synaptic vesicle function in neurotransmission.