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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Analysis of SNARE-mediated Membrane Fusion Using an Enzymatic Cell Fusion Assay
Published on: October 19, 2012
A tripartite protein complex with the potential to couple synaptic vesicle exocytosis to cell adhesion in brain
S Butz1, M Okamoto, T C Südhof
1Center for Basic Neuroscience, Department of Molecular Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 75235, USA.
Abstract:
We identify a complex of three proteins in brain that has the potential to couple synaptic vesicle exocytosis to neuronal cell adhesion. The three proteins are: (1) CASK, a protein related to MAGUKs (membrane-associated guanylate kinases); (2) Mint1, a putative vesicular trafficking protein; and (3) Veli1, -2, and -3, vertebrate homologs of C. elegans LIN-7. CASK, Mint1, and Velis form a tight, salt-resistant complex that can be readily isolated. CASK, Mint1, and Velis contain PDZ domains in addition to other modules. However, no PDZ domains are involved in complex formation, leaving them free to recruit cell adhesion molecules, receptors, and channels to the complex. We propose that the tripartite complex acts as a nucleation site for the assembly of proteins involved in synaptic vesicle exocytosis and synaptic junctions.
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