Vesicle (source code)
= Vesicle
A <vesicle> is a small compartment enclosed by a <lipid bilayer>. Its <vesicle lumen> can carry soluble cargo, while its <lipid bilayer> carries <lipids> and <membrane proteins>. In a transport pathway, budding separates a carrier from one compartment and <membrane fusion> joins it to another. Orientation matters: fusion of a secretory <vesicle> with the <cell membrane> connects its <vesicle lumen> to the extracellular space while incorporating its <membrane proteins> into the surface. <Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others>[Chapter 13, Intracellular Vesicular Traffic: topology of membrane transport]{ref}
A <vesicle> is therefore more than a freely diffusing package. Recognition, movement and <membrane fusion> require distinct interactions. In a reconstitution experiment, complementary <SNARE proteins> placed in separate <liposomes> brought opposing <lipid bilayers> together and promoted fusion; the experiment isolated one part of transport from the rest of a living <cell>. <SNAREpins: minimal machinery for membrane fusion by T. Weber and others>[1998, abstract: separate v-SNARE and t-SNARE vesicles]{ref}
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