The molecular machinery for fast and slow neurosecretion

Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1994 Oct;4(5):626-32. doi: 10.1016/0959-4388(94)90002-7.

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that the molecular machinery for synaptic vesicle docking and fusion consists of a triad of botulinum/tetanus neurotoxin substrates (synaptobrevin, syntaxin, SNAP-25) that are homologues of proteins required for constitutive secretion. Proposed low-affinity Ca2+ sensors that regulate exocytosis remain to be identified, although recent studies on synaptotagmin suggest that it, along with other proteins, could play this role. Regulated peptide secretion from dense-core granules has been found to utilize a similar machinery for docking/fusion, and recent studies indicate that this pathway involves a pre-docking step that is regulated by a higher affinity Ca2+ sensor.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Calcium / metabolism
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins*
  • Cytosol / metabolism
  • Exocytosis
  • Humans
  • Membrane Glycoproteins / physiology
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / physiology
  • Nervous System / metabolism*
  • Neurons / physiology
  • Neurotoxins / pharmacology
  • Synaptic Vesicles / physiology
  • Synaptotagmins

Substances

  • Calcium-Binding Proteins
  • Membrane Glycoproteins
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Neurotoxins
  • Synaptotagmins
  • Calcium