Porosome

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Porosomes or fusion pores are cup-shaped structures in the cell membranes of eukaryotic cells where vesicles dock in the process of secretion.[1][2] These structures are about 150 nanometers in diameter and contain many different types of protein, especially SNARE proteins that mediate the docking and fusion of the vesicles with the cell membrane. Once the vesicles have docked with the SNARE proteins, they swell, which increases their internal pressure. They then fuse with the membrane, and these pressurized contents are ejected from the cell.[3]

The porosome was discovered in the early to mid 1990's by a team led by Professor Bhanu Jena at Yale University School of Medicine, using atomic force microscopy.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Anderson LL (2006). "Discovery of the 'porosome'; the universal secretory machinery in cells". J. Cell. Mol. Med. 10 (1): 126–31. PMID 16563225. 
  2. ^ Jena BP (2003). "Fusion pore or porosome: structure and dynamics". J. Endocrinol. 176 (2): 169–74. PMID 12553865. 
  3. ^ Jena BP (2004). "Discovery of the Porosome: revealing the molecular mechanism of secretion and membrane fusion in cells". J. Cell. Mol. Med. 8 (1): 1–21. PMID 15090256. 

[edit] External links


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Structures of the cell membrane
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