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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...
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles01:32

Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles

Vesicle budding is orchestrated by distinct cytosolic proteins such as adaptor proteins, coat proteins, and GTPases. To initiate vesicle budding, membrane-bending proteins containing crescent-shaped BAR domains bind to the lipid heads in the bilayer and distort the membrane to form a protein-coated vesicle bud. Adaptors proteins such as AP2 for clathrin-coated vesicles can nucleate on the deformed membrane. Finally, coat proteins such as clathrin or COPI and COPII assemble into a coat forming...
Coat Assembly and GTPases01:33

Coat Assembly and GTPases

Vesicles incorporate different coat protein subunits in different cell locations, which changes the properties of the coat, such as the shape and geometry of the transport vesicles. Thus, vesicle coat proteins also play a significant role in cargo selection.
Coat assembly depends on the local availability of phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs and GTP-binding proteins. Adaptor proteins, which link the coat proteins to the membrane, bind to these PIPs and play a crucial role in controlling...
SNAREs and Membrane Fusion01:43

SNAREs and Membrane Fusion

Once a transport vesicle has recognized its target organelle, the vesicular membrane needs to fuse with the target membrane to unload the cargo. Transmembrane proteins called SNAREs present on organelle membranes and their vesicles, mediate vesicle 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...
Clathrin Coated Vesicles01:12

Clathrin Coated Vesicles

Clathrin-coated vesicles use endocytosis to transport receptors and lysosomal hydrolases from the Golgi to the lysosome in the late secretory pathway. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was the first described endocytic process, and Clathrin-coated vesicles remain one of the most well-studied transport vesicles. The molecular machinery that generates clathrin-coated vesicles comprises over 50 proteins that precisely coordinate vesicle formation. Cell surface receptors concentrated in indented sites...
Overview of Secretory Vesicles01:33

Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 10, 2026

Measuring Membrane Lipid Turnover with the pH-sensitive Fluorescent Lipid Analog ND6
08:31

Measuring Membrane Lipid Turnover with the pH-sensitive Fluorescent Lipid Analog ND6

Published on: July 29, 2021

Greasing the synaptic vesicle cycle by membrane lipids.

Dmytro Puchkov1, Volker Haucke

  • 1Leibniz Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP), Robert-Roessle-Strasse 10, 13125 Berlin, Germany.

Trends in Cell Biology
|June 13, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Membrane lipids, including cholesterol and phosphoinositides, are crucial for synaptic vesicle (SV) cycling. These lipids, alongside proteins, regulate neurotransmission by influencing SV exocytosis and membrane retrieval at nerve terminals.

Keywords:
cholesterollipidsneurotransmissionphosphoinositidessphingolipids and derivativessynaptic vesicle exo-endocytosis

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An Optical Assay for Synaptic Vesicle Recycling in Cultured Neurons Overexpressing Presynaptic Proteins

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Measuring Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons
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Measuring Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 10, 2026

Measuring Membrane Lipid Turnover with the pH-sensitive Fluorescent Lipid Analog ND6
08:31

Measuring Membrane Lipid Turnover with the pH-sensitive Fluorescent Lipid Analog ND6

Published on: July 29, 2021

An Optical Assay for Synaptic Vesicle Recycling in Cultured Neurons Overexpressing Presynaptic Proteins
09:33

An Optical Assay for Synaptic Vesicle Recycling in Cultured Neurons Overexpressing Presynaptic Proteins

Published on: June 26, 2018

Measuring Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons
07:30

Measuring Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Published on: September 4, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Neurotransmission relies on the regulated release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles (SVs) and subsequent membrane recycling.
  • While protein networks are known regulators, the role of membrane lipids in SV cycling is increasingly recognized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of the critical functions of membrane lipids in synaptic vesicle cycling.
  • To discuss potential models for how lipids and their interactions with proteins regulate presynaptic function.

Main Methods:

  • Review of evidence from genetic analysis in model organisms.
  • Integration of findings from high-resolution imaging techniques.
  • Synthesis of data from biochemical studies.

Main Results:

  • Membrane lipids, including structural lipids (cholesterol, sphingolipids) and phosphoinositides (PIs), are essential for SV cycling.
  • Lipids interact with protein components of exocytic and endocytic machinery.
  • Lipid-protein interactions couple the exocytic and endocytic phases of the SV cycle.

Conclusions:

  • Lipids play a fundamental role in regulating synaptic vesicle dynamics and presynaptic function.
  • Understanding lipid-protein interactions offers new insights into the mechanisms governing neurotransmission.