Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), electrospray ionization charge detection mass spectrometry (CD-MS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to characterize poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)55-poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate)x (G55-Hx) vesicles prepared by polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) using a reversible addition-fragmentation chain ...

Phosphoinositides provide compartment-specific signals for membrane trafficking. Plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) is required for Ca(2+)-triggered vesicle exocytosis, but whether vesicles fuse into PIP2-rich membrane domains in live cells and whether PIP2 is metabolized during Ca(2+)-triggered fusion were unknown. Ca(2+)-dependent activator protein in secretion 1 (CA...

The terminal step in cytokinesis, called abscission, requires resolution of the membrane connection between two prospective daughter cells. Our previous studies demonstrated that the coiled-coil protein centriolin localized to the midbody during cytokinesis and was required for abscission. Here we show that centriolin interacts with proteins of vesicle-targeting exocyst complexes and vesicle-fu...

Synaptotagmin 1 (Syt1), a major Ca(2+) sensor in neuroexocytosis, utilizes SNARE- and membrane-binding to regulate vesicle fusion, a required process for neurotransmitter release at the synapse. However, the mechanism by which Syt1 orchestrates SNARE- and membrane- binding to control individual vesicle fusion steps is still unclear. In this study, we used a number of single vesicle assays that ...

Endocytosis in budding yeast is thought to occur in several phases. First, the membrane invaginates and then elongates into a tube. A vesicle forms at the end of the tube, eventually pinching off to form a "free" vesicle. Experiments show that actin polymerization is an active participant in the endocytic process, along with a number of membrane-associated proteins. Here we investigate the poss...

Synaptic vesicle recycling has been proposed to depend on proteins which coordinate membrane and cytoskeletal dynamics. Here, we examine the role of the dynamin- and N-WASP (neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein)-binding protein syndapin/PACSIN at the lamprey reticulospinal synapse. We find that presynaptic microinjection of syndapin antibodies inhibits vesicle recycling evoked by intense (5 ...

One of the more fascinating problems in biology is to understand the nerve signalling that enables us to think and feel. The transmission of nerve impulses across synapses is accomplished by the release of signalling molecules, known as neurotransmitters, at nerve terminals. Neurotransmitters are stored in synaptic vesicles and, after the nerve has received the appropriate stimulus, they are re...

The nanometer-scale discrimination of virus-rupturing peptides is tested using lipid membrane platforms. In combination with single-vesicle analysis of peptide-induced vesicle rupture, a correlation between membrane partitioning and biologically relevant activities is established. Taken together, the findings support that the degree of rupture activity should be balanced by membrane curvature-s...

Synaptic vesicles, which have been a paradigm for the fusion of a vesicle with its target membrane, also serve as a model for understanding the formation of a vesicle from its donor membrane. Synaptic vesicles, which are formed and recycled at the periphery of the neuron, contain a highly restricted set of neuronal proteins. Insight into the trafficking of synaptic vesicle proteins has come fro...

Lipid bilayer membranes have a native (albeit small) permeability for water molecules. Under an external load, provided that the structure stays intact and does not suffer from poration or rupture, lipid membrane deforms its influx/efflux is often assumed negligible in absence of osmolarity. In this work we use boundary integral simulations to investigate effects on vesicle hydrodynamics due me...