PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Hurtley, Stella M.
TI  - Grappling with Membrane Fusion
AID  - 10.1126/scisignal.255ec33
DP  - 2009 Jan 27
TA  - Science Signaling
PG  - ec33--ec33
VI  - 2
IP  - 55
4099  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2/55/ec33.short
4100  - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2/55/ec33.full
SO  - Sci. Signal.2009 Jan 27; 2
AB  - The process of membrane fusion is fundamental to cellular organization and has been the focus of a vast literature. Südhof and Rothman review the role of so-called SNARE and SM proteins in membrane fusion and present a hypothesis for how they are regulated by other proteins, termed grapples, exemplified by complexin. Two further papers also shed light on complexin’s role in regulating SNARE-mediated membrane fusion. Giraudo et al. show that a structural motif within complexin appears to act as a molecular switch directly interacting with SNAREs during membrane fusion. Maximov et al. confirm that, in neuronal systems, complexin can play a negative or positive role in SNARE-mediated membrane fusion during neurotransmitter release, potentially either clamping SNARES to prevent spontaneous fusion or promoting fusion when appropriate. C. G. Giraudo, A. Garcia-Diaz, W. S. Eng, Y. Chen, W. A. Hendrickson, T. J. Melia, J. E. Rothman, Alternative zippering as an on-off switch for SNARE-mediated fusion. Science 323, 512–516 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text] A. Maximov, J. Tang, X. Yang, Z. P. Pang, T. C. Südhof, Complexin controls the force transfer from SNARE complexes to membranes in fusion. Science 323, 516–521 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text] T. C. Südhof, J. E. Rothman, Membrane fusion: Grappling with SNARE and SM proteins. Science 323, 474–477 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]