= Syntaxin
<Syntaxin> is a family of membrane-anchored <SNARE proteins> that contributes a helix to a membrane-fusion complex. In neuronal secretion, <syntaxin> and <SNAP-25> on the target <cell membrane> assemble with <synaptobrevin> on a <synaptic vesicle>. <Syntaxin> contributes one helix, <synaptobrevin> one and <SNAP-25> two, producing a four-helix <SNARE complex> from three <protein> chains. Assembly across opposing <lipid bilayers> couples molecular binding to <membrane fusion>. <Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others>[Chapter 13, Molecular Mechanisms of Vesicle Budding and Fusion]{ref}
The membrane context matters. Reconstituted complementary <SNARE proteins> in different <liposomes> can promote fusion, while a complex assembled after fusion has its membrane anchors on the same <lipid bilayer>. Detecting a <syntaxin>-containing complex therefore does not by itself show that it is still bridging a <vesicle> to its target. <SNAREpins: minimal machinery for membrane fusion by T. Weber and others>[1998, reconstitution and membrane-bridging SNAREpins]{ref}
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