scholarly journals Phosphatidylserine Regulation of Ca2+-triggered Exocytosis and Fusion Pores in PC12 Cells

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 5086-5095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Enfu Hui ◽  
Edwin R. Chapman ◽  
Meyer B. Jackson

The synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin I (Syt I) binds phosphatidylserine (PS) in a Ca2+-dependent manner. This interaction is thought to play a role in exocytosis, but its precise functions remain unclear. To determine potential roles for Syt I-PS binding, we varied the PS content in PC12 cells and liposomes and studied the effects on the kinetics of exocytosis and Syt I binding in parallel. Raising PS produced a steeply nonlinear, saturating increase in Ca2+-triggered fusion, and a graded slowing of the rate of fusion pore dilation. Ca2+-Syt I bound liposomes more tightly as PS content was raised, with a steep increase in binding at low PS, and a further gradual increase at higher PS. These two phases in the PS dependence of Ca2+-dependent Syt I binding to lipid may correspond to the two distinct and opposing kinetic effects of PS on exocytosis. PS influences exocytosis in two ways, enhancing an early step leading to fusion pore opening, and slowing a later step when fusion pores dilate. The possible relevance of these results to Ca2+-triggered Syt I binding is discussed along with other possible roles of PS.

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 2821-2831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Enfu Hui ◽  
Edwin R. Chapman ◽  
Meyer B. Jackson

Synaptotagmin (syt) serves as a Ca2+ sensor in the release of neurotransmitters and hormones. This function depends on the ability of syt to interact with other molecules. Syt binds to phosphatidylserine (PS)-containing lipid bilayers as well as to soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor receptors (SNAREs) and promotes SNARE assembly. All these interactions are regulated by Ca2+, but their specific roles in distinct kinetic steps of exocytosis are not well understood. To explore these questions we used amperometry recording from PC12 cells to investigate the kinetics of exocytosis. Syt isoforms and syt I mutants were overexpressed to perturb syt-PS and syt-SNARE interactions to varying degrees and evaluate the effects on fusion event frequency and the rates of fusion pore transitions. Syt I produced more rapid dilation of fusion pores than syt VII or syt IX, consistent with its role in synchronous synaptic release. Stronger syt-PS interactions were accompanied by a higher frequency of fusion events and more stable fusion pores. By contrast, syt-SNARE interactions and syt-induced SNARE assembly were uncorrelated with rates of exocytosis. This associates the syt-PS interaction with two distinct kinetic steps in Ca2+ triggered exocytosis and supports a role for the syt-PS interaction in stabilizing open fusion pores.


2006 ◽  
Vol 570 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Tien Wang ◽  
Jihong Bai ◽  
Payne Y. Chang ◽  
Edwin R. Chapman ◽  
Meyer B. Jackson

2000 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 1125-1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radhika C. Desai ◽  
Bimal Vyas ◽  
Cynthia A. Earles ◽  
J. Troy Littleton ◽  
Judith A. Kowalchyck ◽  
...  

The synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin I has been proposed to serve as a Ca2+ sensor for rapid exocytosis. Synaptotagmin spans the vesicle membrane once and possesses a large cytoplasmic domain that contains two C2 domains, C2A and C2B. Multiple Ca2+ ions bind to the membrane proximal C2A domain. However, it is not known whether the C2B domain also functions as a Ca2+-sensing module. Here, we report that Ca2+ drives conformational changes in the C2B domain of synaptotagmin and triggers the homo- and hetero-oligomerization of multiple isoforms of the protein. These effects of Ca2+ are mediated by a set of conserved acidic Ca2+ ligands within C2B; neutralization of these residues results in constitutive clustering activity. We addressed the function of oligomerization using a dominant negative approach. Two distinct reagents that block synaptotagmin clustering potently inhibited secretion from semi-intact PC12 cells. Together, these data indicate that the Ca2+-driven clustering of the C2B domain of synaptotagmin is an essential step in excitation-secretion coupling. We propose that clustering may regulate the opening or dilation of the exocytotic fusion pore.


1995 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
G B Melikyan ◽  
W D Niles ◽  
F S Cohen

Time-resolved admittance measurements were used to follow formation of individual fusion pores connecting influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA)-expressing cells to planar bilayer membranes. By measuring in-phase, out-of-phase, and dc components of currents, pore conductances were resolved with millisecond time resolution. Fusion pores developed in stages, from small pores flickering open and closed, to small successful pores that remained open until enlarging their lumens to sizes greater than those of viral nucleocapsids. The kinetics of fusion and the properties of fusion pores were studied as functions of density of the fusion protein HA. The consequences of treating cell surfaces with proteases that do not affect HA were also investigated. Fusion kinetics were described by waiting time distributions from triggering fusion, by lowering pH, to the moment of pore formation. The kinetics of pore formation became faster as the density of active HA was made greater or when cell surface proteins were extensively cleaved with proteases. In accord with this faster kinetics, the intervals between transient pore openings within the flickering stage were shorter for higher HA density and more extensive cell surface treatment. Whereas the kinetics of fusion depended on HA density, the lifetimes of open fusion pores were independent of HA density. However, the lifetimes of open pores were affected by the proteolytic treatment of the cells. Faster fusion kinetics correlated with shorter pore openings. We conclude that the density of fusion protein strongly affects the kinetics of fusion pore formation, but that once formed, pore evolution is not under control of fusion proteins but rather under the influence of mechanical forces, such as membrane bending and tension.


1996 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Blumenthal ◽  
D P Sarkar ◽  
S Durell ◽  
D E Howard ◽  
S J Morris

We have monitored kinetics of fusion between cell pairs consisting of a single influenza hemaglutinin (HA)-expressing cell and a single erythrocyte (RBC) that had been labeled with both a fluorescent lipid (Dil) in the membrane and a fluorescent solute (calcein) in the aqueous space. Initial fusion pore opening between the RBC and HA-expressing cell produced a change in RBC membrane potential (delta psi) that was monitored by a decrease in Dil fluorescence. This event was followed by two distinct stages of fusion pore dilation: the flux of fluorescent lipid (phi L) and the flux of a large aqueous fluorescent dye (phi s). We have analyzed the kinetics of events that occur as a result of transitions between a fusion pore (FP) and a solute permissive fusion pore (FPs). Our data are consistent with a fusion pore comprising six HA trimers.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenyong Wu ◽  
Nadiv Dharan ◽  
Sathish Thiyagarajan ◽  
Ben O’Shaughnessy ◽  
Erdem Karatekin

ABSTRACTAll membrane fusion reactions proceed through an initial fusion pore, including calcium-triggered vesicular release of neurotransmitters and hormones. Expansion of this small pore to release cargo molecules is energetically costly and regulated by cells, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we show that the neuronal/exocytic calcium sensor Synaptotagmin-1 (Syt1) promotes expansion of fusion pores induced by SNARE proteins, beyond its established role in coupling calcium influx to fusion pore opening. Our results suggest that fusion pore dilation by Syt1 requires interactions with SNAREs, PI(4,5)P2, and calcium. Pore opening was abolished by a mutation of the tandem C2 domain (C2AB) hydrophobic loops of Syt1, suggesting that their calcium-induced insertion into the membrane is required for pore opening. We propose that loop insertion is also required for pore expansion, but through a distinct mechanism. Mathematical modelling suggests that membrane insertion re-orients the C2 domains bound to the SNARE complex, rotating the SNARE complex so as to exert force on the membranes in a mechanical lever action that increases the intermembrane distance. The increased membrane separation provokes pore dilation to offset a bending energy penalty. We conclude that Syt1 assumes a critical role in calcium-dependent fusion pore dilation during neurotransmitter and hormone release.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTMembrane fusion is a fundamental biological process, required for development, infection by enveloped viruses, fertilization, intracellular trafficking, and calcium-triggered release of neurotransmitters and hormones when cargo-laden vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane. All membrane fusion reactions proceed through an initial, nanometer-sized fusion pore which can flicker open-closed multiple times before expanding or resealing. Pore expansion is required for efficient cargo release, but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Using a combination of single-pore measurements and quantitative modeling, we suggest that a complex between the neuronal calcium sensor Synaptotagmin-1 and the SNARE proteins together act as a calcium-sensitive mechanical lever to force the membranes apart and enlarge the pore.


2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (40) ◽  
pp. 15388-15392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinghua Fang ◽  
Khajak Berberian ◽  
Liang-Wei Gong ◽  
Ismail Hafez ◽  
Jakob B. Sørensen ◽  
...  

Formation of a fusion pore between a vesicle and its target membrane is thought to involve the so-called SNARE protein complex. However, there is no mechanistic model explaining how the fusion pore is opened by conformational changes in the SNARE complex. It has been suggested that C-terminal zipping triggers fusion pore opening. A SNAP-25 mutant named SNAP-25Δ9 (lacking the last nine C-terminal residues) should lead to a less-tight C-terminal zipping. Single exocytotic events in chromaffin cells expressing this mutant were characterized by carbon fiber amperometry and cell-attached patch capacitance measurements. Cells expressing SNAP-25Δ9 displayed smaller amperometric “foot-current” currents, reduced fusion pore conductances, and lower fusion pore expansion rates. We propose that SNARE/lipid complexes form proteolipid fusion pores. Fusion pores involving the SNAP-25Δ9 mutant will be less tightly zipped and may lead to a longer fusion pore structure, consistent with the observed decrease of fusion pore conductance.


2006 ◽  
Vol 172 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Han ◽  
Meyer B. Jackson

The synaptic SNARE complex is a highly stable four-helix bundle that links the vesicle and plasma membranes and plays an essential role in the Ca2+-triggered release of neurotransmitters and hormones. An understanding has yet to be achieved of how this complex assembles and undergoes structural transitions during exocytosis. To investigate this question, we have mutated residues within the hydrophobic core of the SNARE complex along the entire length of all four chains and examined the consequences using amperometry to measure fusion pore opening and dilation. Mutations throughout the SNARE complex reduced two distinct rate processes before fusion pore opening to different degrees. These results suggest that two distinct, fully assembled conformations of the SNARE complex drive transitions leading to open fusion pores. In contrast, a smaller number of mutations that were scattered through the SNARE complex but were somewhat concentrated in the membrane-distal half stabilized open fusion pores. These results suggest that a structural transition within a partially disassembled complex drives the dilation of open fusion pores. The dependence of these three rate processes on position within the SNARE complex does not support vectorial SNARE complex zipping during exocytosis.


1996 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 1831-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Plonsky ◽  
J Zimmerberg

The formation of the fusion pore is the first detectable event in membrane fusion (Zimmerberg, J., R. Blumenthal, D.P. Sarkar, M. Curran, and S.J. Morris. 1994. J. Cell Biol. 127:1885-1894). To date, fusion pores measured in exocytosis and viral fusion have shared features that include reversible closure (flickering), highly fluctuating semistable stages, and a lag time of at least several seconds between the triggering and the pore opening. We investigated baculovirus GP64-induced Sf9 cell-cell fusion, triggered by external acid solution, using two different electrophysiological techniques: double whole-cell recording (for high time resolution, model-independent measurements), and the more conventional time-resolved admittance recordings. Both methods gave essentially the same results, thus validating the use of the admittance measurements for fusion pore conductance calculations. Fusion was first detected by abrupt pore formation with a wide distribution of initial conductance, centered around 1 nS. Often the initial fusion pore conductance was stable for many seconds. Fluctuations in semistable conductances were much less than those of other fusion pores. The waiting time distribution, measured between pH onset and initial pore appearance, fits best to a model with many (approximately 19) independent elements. Thus, unlike previously measured fusion pores, GP64-mediated pores do not flicker, can have large, stable initial pore conductances lasting up to a minute, and have typical lag times of < 1 s. These findings are consistent with a barrel-shaped model of an initial fusion pore consisting of five to eight GP64 trimers that is lined with lipid.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 5093-5103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara L. Lynch ◽  
Roy R.L. Gerona ◽  
Dana M. Kielar ◽  
Sascha Martens ◽  
Harvey T. McMahon ◽  
...  

In regulated vesicle exocytosis, SNARE protein complexes drive membrane fusion to connect the vesicle lumen with the extracellular space. The triggering of fusion pore formation by Ca2+ is mediated by specific isoforms of synaptotagmin (Syt), which employ both SNARE complex and membrane binding. Ca2+ also promotes fusion pore expansion and Syts have been implicated in this process but the mechanisms involved are unclear. We determined the role of Ca2+-dependent Syt-effector interactions in fusion pore expansion by expressing Syt-1 mutants selectively altered in Ca2+-dependent SNARE binding or in Ca2+-dependent membrane insertion in PC12 cells that lack vesicle Syts. The release of different-sized fluorescent peptide-EGFP vesicle cargo or the vesicle capture of different-sized external fluorescent probes was used to assess the extent of fusion pore dilation. We found that PC12 cells expressing partial loss-of-function Syt-1 mutants impaired in Ca2+-dependent SNARE binding exhibited reduced fusion pore opening probabilities and reduced fusion pore expansion. Cells with gain-of-function Syt-1 mutants for Ca2+-dependent membrane insertion exhibited normal fusion pore opening probabilities but the fusion pores dilated extensively. The results indicate that Syt-1 uses both Ca2+-dependent membrane insertion and SNARE binding to drive fusion pore expansion.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document