Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P15088 (mast cell)
 14,925 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Exocytosis of mast cell granules requires a vesicular- and plasma membrane-associated fusion machinery. We examined the distribution of SNARE membrane fusion and Munc18 accessory proteins in lipid rafts of RBL mast cells. SNAREs were found either excluded (syntaxin2), equally distributed between raft and non-raft fractions (syntaxin4, VAMP-8, VAMP-2), or selectively enriched in rafts (syntaxin3, SNAP-23). Syntaxin4-binding Munc18-3 was absent, whereas small amounts of the syntaxin3-interacting partner Munc18-2 consistently distributed into rafts. Cognate SNARE complexes of syntaxin3 with SNAP-23 and VAMP-8 were enriched in rafts, whereas Munc18-2/syntaxin3 complexes were excluded. This demonstrates a spatial separation between these two types of complexes and suggests that Munc18-2 acts in a step different from SNARE complex formation and fusion.
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PMID:Munc18-2/syntaxin3 complexes are spatially separated from syntaxin3-containing SNARE complexes. 1293 1

Regulated exocytosis is a process in which a physiological trigger initiates the translocation, docking, and fusion of secretory granules with the plasma membrane. A class of proteins termed SNAREs (including SNAP-23, syntaxins, and VAMPs) are known regulators of secretory granule/plasma membrane fusion events. We have investigated the molecular mechanisms of regulated exocytosis in mast cells and find that SNAP-23 is phosphorylated when rat basophilic leukemia mast cells are triggered to degranulate. The kinetics of SNAP-23 phosphorylation mirror the kinetics of exocytosis. We have identified amino acid residues Ser(95) and Ser(120) as the major phosphorylation sites in SNAP-23 in rodent mast cells. Quantitative analysis revealed that approximately 10% of SNAP-23 was phosphorylated when mast cell degranulation was induced. These same residues were phosphorylated when mouse platelet degranulation was induced with thrombin, demonstrating that phosphorylation of SNAP-23 Ser(95) and Ser(120) is not restricted to mast cells. Although triggering exocytosis did not alter the absolute amount of SNAP-23 bound to SNAREs, after stimulation essentially all of the SNAP-23 bound to the plasma membrane SNARE syntaxin 4 and the vesicle SNARE VAMP-2 was phosphorylated. Regulated exocytosis studies revealed that overexpression of SNAP-23 phosphorylation mutants inhibited exocytosis from rat basophilic leukemia mast cells, demonstrating that phosphorylation of SNAP-23 on Ser(120) and Ser(95) modulates regulated exocytosis by mast cells.
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PMID:Phosphorylation of SNAP-23 regulates exocytosis from mast cells. 1561 Oct 44

Mast cells degranulate and release the contents of intracellular secretory granules in response to the cross-linking of FcepsilonRI by multivalent antigens. These granules contain a variety of biologically active inflammatory mediators; however, it is not clear whether these granules are homogenous or whether there is heterogeneity within the secretory granule population in mast cells. By using genetically altered mice lacking specific vesicle-associated SNARE membrane fusion proteins, we found that VAMP-8-deficient mast cells exhibited defects in FcepsilonRI-regulated exocytosis, whereas synaptobrevin 2- or VAMP-3-deficient mast cells did not. Surprisingly, the defect in secretion in VAMP-8-deficient mice was limited to the subpopulation of mast cell secretory granules containing serotonin and cathepsin D, whereas regulated exocytosis of secretory granules containing histamine and TNF-alpha was normal. Confocal microscopy confirmed that serotonin and histamine were present in distinct intracellular granules and that most serotonin-containing granules were VAMP-8-positive. Thus, this study demonstrates that mast cells do indeed possess distinct subsets of secretory granules and that these subsets use different SNARE isoforms for exocytosis.
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PMID:Mast cells possess distinct secretory granule subsets whose exocytosis is regulated by different SNARE isoforms. 1825 Mar 39

Vesicle-associated V-soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins and target membrane-associated T-SNAREs (syntaxin 4 and SNAP-23) assemble into a core trans-SNARE complex that mediates membrane fusion during mast cell degranulation. This complex plays pivotal roles at various stages of exocytosis from the initial priming step to fusion pore opening and expansion, finally resulting in the release of the vesicle contents. In this study, peptides with the sequences of various SNARE motifs were investigated for their potential inhibitory effects against SNARE complex formation and mast cell degranulation. The peptides with the sequences of the N-terminal regions of vesicle-associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP2) and VAMP8 were found to reduce mast cell degranulation by inhibiting SNARE complex formation. The fusion of protein transduction domains to the N-terminal of each peptide enabled the internalization of the fusion peptides into the cells equally as efficiently as cell permeabilization by streptolysin-O without any loss of their inhibitory activities. Distinct subsets of mast cell granules could be selectively regulated by the N-terminal-mimicking peptides derived from VAMP2 and VAMP8, and they effectively decreased the symptoms of atopic dermatitis in mouse models. These results suggest that the cell membrane fusion machinery may represent a therapeutic target for atopic dermatitis.
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PMID:Soluble N-Ethylmaleimide-Sensitive Factor Attachment Protein Receptor-Derived Peptides for Regulation of Mast Cell Degranulation. 2969 21