<p><strong>Porosomes</strong> or <strong>fusion pores</strong> are cup-shaped structures in the <font color="#000080">cell membranes</font> of <font color="#000080">eukaryotic</font> cells where <font color="#000080">vesicles</font> dock in the process of <font color="#000080">secretion</font>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Anderson_0-0"><font color="#000080"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></font></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><font color="#000080"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></font></sup> These structures are about 150 <font color="#000080">nanometers</font> in diameter and contain many different types of protein, especially <font color="#000080">SNARE proteins</font> that mediate the docking and fusion of the vesicles with the cell membrane. Once the vesicles have docked with the SNARE proteins, they swell, which increases their internal pressure. They then fuse with the membrane, and these pressurized contents are ejected from the cell.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><font color="#000080"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></font></sup></p>

<p>The porosome was discovered in the early to mid 1990's by a team led by Professor Bhanu Jena at <font color="#000080">Yale University</font> School of Medicine, using <font color="#000080">atomic force microscopy</font>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Anderson_0-1"><font color="#000080"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></font></sup></p>

<h2><span class="mw-headline">References</span></h2>

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<h2><span class="mw-headline">External links</span></h2>

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<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.med.wayne.edu/physiology/facultyprofile/jena/" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.med.wayne.edu/physiology/facultyprofile/jena/"><font color="#000080">Molecular Machinery &amp; Mechanism of Cell Secretion</font></a> Jena Lab at Wayne State University School of Medicine </li>

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