Vesicle trafficking is a crucial cellular process where vesicles transport materials to specific organelles or membranes. This process involves the SNARE hypothesis, where vesicles have vesicle SNAREs (vSNAREs) and target membranes have target SNAREs (tSNAREs). The vSNAREs and tSNAREs recognise each other, ensuring that vesicles dock at the correct membranes.
However, the SNARE proteins are promiscuous and can bind with multiple partners, posing challenges for precise docking. To address this, cells use Tether proteins, which operate over greater distances and add an additional layer of specificity. Tether proteins help vesicles recognise their target membranes, while SNAREs facilitate the fusion process.
This combined mechanism ensures accurate vesicle targeting and fusion, which is regulated by a GTP timer that coordinates the events.
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Additional Reading
The video was produced with help from the following resources:
- 📗 - The Biosciences Glossary
- 📗 - Molecular Biology of the Cell (Alberts) - (affiliate link)
- 📗 - Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish) - (affiliate link)
- 📗 - Biochemistry (Stryer) - (affiliate link)
