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AAT Bioquest

What role does calcium play in exocytosis?

Posted January 21, 2021


Answer

Calcium plays a key role in triggering the exocytosis of neurotransmitter and hormone-containing vesicles. Spanning both the vesicle and cell membrane are v-SNARE and t-SNARE protein complexes, respectively, that drive the biological fusion of the two membranes. The v-SNARE complex, which is embedded in the membrane of vesicles, is comprised of synaptobrevin and the calcium-sensitive protein synaptotagmin. When calcium binds to synaptotagmin it enhances the interactions between proteins of the v-SNARE and t-SNARE complexes causing the two membranes to fuse together.

Additional resources

Cell biology of Ca2+-triggered exocytosis

Cal Green™ 1, AM [Equivalent to Calcium Green-1, AM]

Intracellular Ions