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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

cholesterol, SNARE, liposome fusion, neurotransmitter

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

Throughout our lives we often take our wonderful nervous system for granted. We simply accept that it will do its job and help us to organize our thoughts into plans for the day, or research reports such as this. At a cellular level, the SNARE proteins mediate fusion of neurotransmitter containing vesicles to the plasma membrane of a neuron to release neurotransmitter. This exocytotic process is part of the orchestra of events that enable us to think. There are three main proteins of the SNARE protein complex with many other proteins playing a role as well. VAMP is associated with the vesicle, syntaxin is associated with the plasma membrane and a third protein whose function or association is not as well understood called SNAP-25. My research project with Dr. Woodbury was focused on SNAP-25 in particular. The neuron naturally contains different percentages of cholesterol by mol ratio throughout the plasma membrane as well as in the neurosecretory vesicles. Dr. Woodbury and I were very interested in the effect of cholesterol on SNARE mediated vesicular fusion.

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