
Fig. 3. The Ca2+ dependencies of exoytosis and for the acquisition by
SNAREs of trypsin resistance are unaffected following SNAP-25 truncation by
BoNT/A. Chromaffin cells, in the absence (
) or presence ([UNK]) of 66 nM
BoNT/A (see Materials and Methods), were permeabilised and exposed for 15
minutes to a range of free [Ca2+] (MgATP was not included), then
catecholamine release was assayed as described in
Fig. 1; the results are plotted
in (A). Cells were incubated without (B) or with (C) trypsin (100 µg/ml
final concentration) for a further 30 minutes, and 2 mM PMSF added before a
membrane fraction was prepared. The latter samples were boiled for 10 minutes,
subjected to SDS-PAGE and analysed by western blotting under identical
conditions. The amount of SNAREs remaining in the trypsin-treated cells was
quantified (see Materials and Methods) using photographic exposures optimised
to show the Ca2+ dependence of trypsin resistance (i.e. using
photographs in which the signals from BoNT/A-treated cells had been developed
for longer than shown in C). The signal intensities were quantified as in
Fig. 1 for control (open
symbols) and BoNT/A-poisoned cells (closed symbols) and plotted for
synaptotagmin I (D), syntaxin (E), SNAP-25 (F) and synaptobrevin (G). Plotted
data are representative of results obtained on at least three separate
occasions.