= Synaptobrevin
<Synaptobrevin> is a membrane-anchored <SNARE protein> associated with secretory <vesicles>, including <synaptic vesicles>. Its cytosolic helix joins complementary helices from <syntaxin> and <SNAP-25> to form a <SNARE complex>. When the partners initially occupy opposing <lipid bilayers>, their assembly helps bring those <lipid bilayers> close enough for <membrane fusion>. The <protein> helps couple the membranes mechanically; it is not a pore through which the <neurotransmitter> simply leaks. <Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others>[Chapter 13, Molecular Mechanisms of Vesicle Budding and Fusion]{ref}
Reconstituting <synaptobrevin> and its complementary <SNARE proteins> into separate <liposomes> made fusion measurable outside a <cell>. The ability to accumulate docked intermediates at low <temperature> and trigger fusion on warming also distinguished membrane docking from the subsequent merger. Living <synapses> add regulation that this minimal assay does not reproduce. <SNAREpins: minimal machinery for membrane fusion by T. Weber and others>[1998, abstract: recombinant v- and t-SNAREs and temperature-dependent intermediates]{ref}
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