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First published online June 20, 2006

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Fusion factors supplied by rafts

Lipid rafts, membrane microdomains rich in cholesterol and sphingomyelin, seem to regulate the Ca²⁺ sensitivity and rate of Ca²⁺-triggered fusion of membranes during exocytosis. One hypothesis is that they do this by localizing `efficiency' factors such as Ca²⁺ sensors. On p. 2688, Tatiana Rogasevskaia and Jens Coorssen provide support for this idea by showing that the integrity of sphingomyelin-enriched microdomains determines the efficiency of Ca²⁺-triggered membrane fusion. In fully primed, release-ready cortical vesicles from sea-urchin eggs, cholesterol contributes to both the efficiency of fusion and the vesicles' fundamental ability to fuse. Rogasevskaia and Coorssen now show that the disruption of rafts with sphingomyelinase inhibits the Ca²⁺ sensitivity and kinetics of vesicle fusion but not their intrinsic ability to fuse. These data, the authors conclude, are consistent with the existence of a minimal native fusion machine that has a low intrinsic Ca²⁺ sensitivity that can be enhanced by recruitment and organization of efficiency components by microdomains.

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Related articles in JCS:

Sphingomyelin-enriched microdomains define the efficiency of native Ca²⁺-triggered membrane fusion

Tatiana Rogasevskaia and Jens R. Coorssen
JCS 2006 119: 2688-2694. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JCS Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?