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Related Concept Videos

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane01:26

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane

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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.
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After budding out from the ER membrane, some COPII vesicles lose their coat and fuse with one another to form larger vesicles and interconnected tubules called vesicular tubular clusters or VTCs. These clusters constitute a compartment at the ER-Golgi interface known as ERGIC (Endoplasmic Reticulum Golgi Intermediate Compartment). The ERGIC is a mobile membrane-bound cargo transport system that sorts proteins secreted from ER and delivers them to the Golgi.
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Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

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Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
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Chemical Synapses01:26

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Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
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SNAREs and Membrane Fusion01:43

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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.
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Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Preparation of Synaptoneurosomes from Mouse Cortex using a Discontinuous Percoll-Sucrose Density Gradient
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Synaptic Vesicle Clusters at Synapses: A Distinct Liquid Phase?

Dragomir Milovanovic1, Pietro De Camilli1

  • 1Departments of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.

Neuron
|March 11, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cytoplasmic phase separation drives intracellular organization. This study explores how vesicle-based phase separation may form synaptic vesicle clusters near presynaptic sites for efficient neurotransmission.

Keywords:
exocytosisintrinsically disordered regionliquid phasephase separationsynapsesynapsin 1synaptic vesicle clusterssynaptic vesicles

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Intracellular organization relies on phase separation, forming liquid compartments without membranes.
  • Synaptic vesicles (SVs) cluster near presynaptic sites, crucial for neurotransmission.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of phase separation in organizing synaptic vesicles.
  • To propose a model where vesicles, not macromolecules, drive phase separation at synapses.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical discussion and modeling of phase separation principles.
  • Analysis of existing literature on synaptic vesicle clustering and intracellular organization.

Main Results:

  • Phase separation involving vesicles could explain the formation of synaptic vesicle clusters.
  • This liquid organization allows SVs to remain clustered yet readily available for release.

Conclusions:

  • Vesicle-based phase separation offers a mechanism for synaptic vesicle clustering.
  • This model supports efficient synaptic vesicle recruitment and release at active zones.