The goal of my research is to understand, at a molecular level, the mechanisms responsible for the release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides at the synapse. This includes early events of sorting and targeting of vesicle contents as well as late events involved with fusion of the vesicle membrane with the presynaptic plasma membrane. Using neuronal (PC12) cells, we have engineered cell lines that express and target foreign secretory proteins to the synaptic vesicles. We have examined the involvement of CaM kinase II in the fusion event, and have most recently discovered and initiated the characterization of a novel component of synaptic vesicles, which we have named synvesiclin, reflecting its presence on both large dense-core and small synaptic vesicles. The data we have obtained to date suggest that synvesiclin plays a fundamental role in synaptic vesicle dynamics, and that analyzing its properties will help to understand the molecular steps responsible for neurosecretion.