Lipid regulation of exocytosis

Exocytosis is a finely tuned program in which the secretory vesicles are directed to fuse with plasma membrane and discharge neurotransmitter or hormone content to the extracellular space. Lipids may modulate exocytosis via interplays with exocytotic proteins, or via their influence on the physicoch...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zhang, Jing
Other Authors: Chen Peng
Format: Theses and Dissertations
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/42452
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Exocytosis is a finely tuned program in which the secretory vesicles are directed to fuse with plasma membrane and discharge neurotransmitter or hormone content to the extracellular space. Lipids may modulate exocytosis via interplays with exocytotic proteins, or via their influence on the physicochemical and structural properties of the plasma membrane. In the current work, we explored the multiple roles played by lipids in the regulation of exocytosis. We mainly focused on (1) sterols and sphingolipids which are enriched in membrane functional microdomains (lipid rafts) for spatial regulation of exocytosis; and (2) lysophospholipids which are implicated in Ca2+ signaling. It was found that lipids regulate multiple aspects of exocytosis, such as vesicle trafficking, docking and quantal release kinetics. Understanding the regulatory roles of lipids in the dynamic exocytotic cascade would assist to fully reveal this fundamental cell function and to deal with diseases related to exocytosis.