RAB PROTEINS IN REGULATED EXOCYTOSIS

Regulated exocytosis is responsible for neuronal communication, hormon e secretion, food digestion, control of glucose uptake and many other basic processes. Despite the structural and functional diversity of th e cells undergoing regulated exocytosis, all regulated exocytosis invo lves specialized vesicles that are stored in the cytoplasm and fuse wi th the plasma membrane in response to a trigger event. Recent evidence suggests that a subset of small GTP-binding proteins, Rab3 and its re latives, participate in the control of regulated exocytosis.