Fusion Pore Dynamics
Fusion Pore Dynamics - Related Videos
12:30
Confocal Microscopy to Measure Three Modes of Fusion Pore Dynamics in Adrenal Chromaffin Cells
0 Views •
Cited by 1 •
2022
This protocol describes a confocal imaging technique to detect three fusion modes in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. These fusion modes include 1) close-fusion (also called kiss-and-run), involving fusion pore opening and closure, 2) stay-fusion, involving fusion pore opening and maintaining the opened pore, and 3) shrink-fusion, involving fused vesicle shrinkage.
06:14
Assessment of Mitochondrial Fission/Fusion Dynamics in Kidney Proximal Tubular Cells
0 Views •
2025
This article describes the use of confocal microscopy and ImageJ to assess mitochondrial fission/fusion dynamics via Dendra2 photo-switching fluorescence.
02:45
Nuclear Fusion
0 Views •
2020
The process of converting very light nuclei into heavier nuclei is also accompanied by the conversion of mass into large amounts of energy, a process called fusion. The principal source of energy in the sun is a net fusion reaction in which four hydrogen nuclei fuse and ultimately produce one helium nucleus and two positrons. A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...
10:18
Dynamic Pore-scale Reservoir-condition Imaging of Reaction in Carbonates Using Synchrotron Fast Tomography
0 Views •
Cited by 6 •
2017
Synchrotron fast tomography was used to dynamically image dissolution of limestone in the presence of CO2-saturated brine at reservoir conditions. 100 scans were taken at a 6.1 µm resolution over a period of 2 h.
09:19
Analysis of SNARE-mediated Membrane Fusion Using an Enzymatic Cell Fusion Assay
0 Views •
2012
We have developed a cell fusion assay that quantifies SNARE-mediated membrane fusion events by activated expression of β-galactosidase.
FAQs
Pore diameter and lifetime help determine how much vesicle cargo escapes before the connection closes or the vesicle fully collapses into the plasma membrane. A brief, narrow opening can support limited release, whereas sustained expansion favors more complete discharge. These variables therefore provide a mechanistic link between nanoscale membrane behavior and the amount of neurotransmitter released at a synapse.
Calcium influx activates synaptotagmin, while SNARE-mediated membrane rearrangement drives the membrane changes required for pore formation. Their coordinated action connects an incoming calcium signal to the timing and progression of exocytosis. Changes in this sequence can alter how quickly a pore forms, whether it expands, and how much vesicle cargo reaches the presynaptic exterior.
Flickering reflects repeated transitions between pore opening and closure before complete membrane merger. Those transitions can limit cargo escape and make release more transient rather than fully collapsing the vesicle into the plasma membrane. Because release amount and timing influence synaptic strength, pore flickering offers a mechanism through which presynaptic terminals can regulate communication between neurons.
Researchers combine electrophysiology, fluorescence imaging, and molecular manipulation to examine these events from complementary perspectives. Electrophysiology can report functional release, imaging can track vesicle-associated membrane events, and molecular manipulation can test the contributions of proteins such as synaptotagmin or the SNARE machinery. Together, these approaches connect pore behavior with neurotransmitter-release timing and synaptic output.
Measurements of pore opening, expansion, flickering, and closure can show whether a synapse favors limited cargo release or more complete vesicle discharge. Relating those behaviors to electrophysiological and fluorescence measurements helps researchers determine how presynaptic membrane mechanics shape release efficiency. The resulting information is relevant to synaptic strength and to short-term changes in neuronal communication.
The framework allows investigators to examine whether altered exocytosis arises from changes in calcium activation, synaptotagmin or SNARE function, or the pore’s subsequent behavior. Molecular manipulation can test these possibilities, while electrophysiology and fluorescence imaging reveal their effects on release. This links disease-associated disturbances in presynaptic secretion to changes in neurotransmitter timing and synaptic function.