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The fusion pore, 60 years after the first cartoon
Author(s) -
Sharma Satyan,
Lindau Manfred
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.13160
Subject(s) - fusion , lipid bilayer fusion , biophysics , chemistry , vesicle , function (biology) , vesicle fusion , conductance , membrane , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , biochemistry , synaptic vesicle , physics , philosophy , linguistics , condensed matter physics
Neurotransmitter release occurs in the form of quantal events by fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane, and begins with the formation of a fusion pore that has a conductance similar to that of a large ion channel or gap junction. In this review, we propose mechanisms of fusion pore formation and discuss their implications for fusion pore structure and function. Accumulating evidence indicates a direct role of soluble N‐ethylmaleimide‐sensitive‐factor attachment receptor proteins in the opening of fusion pores. Fusion pores are likely neither protein channels nor purely lipid, but are of proteolipidic composition. Future perspectives to gain better insight into the molecular structure of fusion pores are discussed.