Fusion pore or porosome: structure and dynamics.
Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 5239 Scott Hall, 540 E. Canfield Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48201-4177, USA. bjena@med.wayne.edu
Electrophysiological measurements on live secretory cells almost a decade ago suggested the presence of fusion pores at the cell plasma membrane. Membrane-bound secretory vesicles were hypothesized to dock and fuse at these sites, to release their contents. Our studies using atomic force microscopy on live exocrine and neuroendocrine cells demonstrate the presence of such plasma membrane pores, revealing their morphology and dynamics at near nm resolution and in real time.
PMID: 12553865 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]