Control of membrane gaps by synaptotagmin-Ca2+ measured with a novel membrane distance ruler

Chao-Chen Lin, Jan Seikowski, Angel Pérez-Lara, Reinhard Jahn, Claudia Höbartner and Peter Jomo Walla ()
Additional contact information
Chao-Chen Lin: Research Group Biomolecular Spectroscopy and Single-Molecule Detection, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Jan Seikowski: Research Group Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Angel Pérez-Lara: Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Reinhard Jahn: Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Claudia Höbartner: Research Group Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
Peter Jomo Walla: Research Group Biomolecular Spectroscopy and Single-Molecule Detection, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Fast synchronous neurotransmitter release is triggered by calcium that activates synaptotagmin-1 (syt-1), resulting in fusion of synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic membrane. Syt-1 possesses two Ca2+-binding C2 domains that tether membranes via interactions with anionic phospholipids. It is capable of crosslinking membranes and has recently been speculated to trigger fusion by decreasing the gap between them. As quantitative information on membrane gaps is key to understanding general cellular mechanisms, including the role of syt-1, we developed a fluorescence-lifetime based inter-membrane distance ruler using membrane-anchored DNAs of various lengths as calibration standards. Wild-type and mutant data provide evidence that full-length syt-1 indeed regulates membrane gaps: without Ca2+, syt-1 maintains membranes at distances of ~7–8 nm. Activation with 100 μM Ca2+ decreases the distance to ~5 nm by binding the C2 domains to opposing membranes, respectively. These values reveal that activated syt-1 adjusts membrane distances to the level that promotes SNARE complex assembly.

Date: 2014
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms6859 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms6859

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6859

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().