Cell Bio Exam 2 Flashcards
Describe the path that proteins take from synthesis to secretion.
Proteins are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum by ribosome. They are processed in the Golgi complex, and then secreted in vesicles.
This process has constitutive and regulated components
What is the endocytotic pathway?
The trafficking of materials into the cell via endosomes.
What signals vesicles to move from one location within the cell to another?
The bilipid membranes of vesicles are studded with proteins that bind to other proteins to relay the vesicle from one place to another
Why is yeast a good model organism for studying trafficking?
Yeast cells are very large in size, making it easier to look at the vesicles inside the cell.
Describe the Pulse-Chase technique
Cells to be studied are incubated with a radioactive amino acid (pulse). The proteins being synthesized during the pulse will contain labeled amino acids. The labeled AAs are then removed from the nutrient source and replaced with non-radioactive AAs (chase).
The cells are fixed at various time points to see the movement of the proteins through the cell.
Describe the movement of labeled proteins seen using the pulse-chase technique
Labeled proteins are seen closer and closer to the plasma membrane as time goes on.
ER –> Golgi –> Vesicles
What is Green Fluorescent Protein?
GFP is a fluorescent tag that can be fused to target protein. This is done by transforming the organism of interest.
Fluorescent microscopy can be used to visualize the tagged protein moving through the cell.
The protein is isolated from a jellyfish
What is a temperature-sensitive mutation, and how is it useful for studying trafficking?
A conditional mutation that produces the mutant phenotype in one (restrictive or non-permissive) temperature range and the wild-type phenotype in another (permissive) temperature range.
If the protein accumulates in the ER at restrictive temperatures, then the mutation alters the AA sequence required for the protein to leave the ER
What is a microsome?
small vesicles that still contain transmembrane proteins that were part of the original ER and Golgi
How can antibodies be used to study ER and Golgi microsomes?
Different microsomes have different protein compositions, and thus different epitopes. Antibodies can be generated against these proteins, and then used to co-stain whole cells as endomembrane markers.
Describe a 2-fusion protein method for staining learning whether or not a protein is located on the endomembrane.
The target protein can be tagged with GFP, and the endomembrane can be tagged with RFP.
Where these two tags overlap will fluoresce yellow, indicating the presence of the target protein on the membrane
What is the significance of the KDEL sequence found on Protein Disulfide Isomerase (PDI)?
This is a highly conserved AA sequence found at the carboxy terminus of PDI.
This AA sequence is necessary for ER retention and sufficient to reduce the secretion of proteins from the ER.
Thus, this sequence traps proteins that are not supposed to be secreted from the ER inside the ER.
What is Mannosidase II a maker for?
Mannosidase II is a marker for the Golgi apparatus.
It is a 135 kD protein located on the luminal side of the Golgi mebranes.
What structures does the Lgl1 protein co-localize with?
The ER and the Golgi
Detected using GFP and RFP overlaping as yellow signal
How do proteins get from the ER to the golgi?
Via a process called “Vesicle Budding”
Little membrane bound vesicles are pinched off from the ER membrane in a budding process.
This vesicle then fuses with the membrane of the Golgi Apparatus
If a yeast cell has a mutation resulting in faulty vesicle budding, where will proteins accumulate?
They will accumulate in the ER becasue the cannot leave through the budding process.
If a yeast cell has a mutation resulting in faulty vesicle fusion, where will the proteins accumulate?
They will accumulate within the cell. They will properly leave the ER, but will not be able to enter the Golgi Apparatus
What are the two types of endoplasmic reticulum? What makes them different?
The rough and the smooth ER (RER and SER)
The RER has ribosomes and is organized into cisternae. It is continuous with the outer membrane of the nucleus. It is associated with the synthesis of exported proteins.
The SER has no ribosomes and has tubular membrane structure
Is the lumen of the ER made of the same components as the cytosol?
No. The ER lumen has a different composition (pH and [protein])
What are the different functions of the smooth ER?
- Storage of Ca2+ ions
- Synthesis of steroid hormones and cholesterol
- Detoxify molecules in the liver
- Hormone synthesis
How are hydrophobic foreign molecules able to be excreted?
Cytochrome P450 is an enzyme found in the SER in liver cells that adds oxygen molecules to hydrophobic foreign molecues to make them hydrophilic enough to be excreted
Describe the RER and golgi complexes found in secretory cells.
These cells (salivary glands, intestines…etc.) are polar.
They have many secretory vesicles with lots of RER and extensive golgi networks.
What are the functions of the RER?
- Synthesis of exported proteins
- Initial glycosylation of proteins
- Folding of polypeptides
- Recognition and removal of misfolded proteins
- Assembly of multimeric protein complexes
What is the Signal Hypothesis?
Proteins that are supposed to be secreted will have a Signal Sequence (SS) at their N-terminus made up of 5-10 hydrophobic terminus.
A Signal Recognition Particle (SRP) binds the SS once it emerges from the ribosome.
The SRP binds to an SRP receptor on the membrane and a channel called a Translocon
The protein is then translated directly into the lumen of the ER.
What happens in the lumen of the ER?
Protein processing begins
Enzymes act to:
- cleave the signal peptide (signal peptidase)
- Protein glycosylation begins (oligosaccharyltransferase)
- Chaperone proteins assist protein folding
- Intermolecular disulfide bonds are formed (PDI)
Describe how the translocon synthesizes transmembrane proteins
2 scenarios depending on which way the N-terminus is supposed to face.
1) if the N-terminus is extracellular, the translocon opens up and expels the peptide into the membrane.
2) If the N-terminus is cytosolic, then it needs to be flipped. Translation pauses as the protein is flipped. The mechanism is unknown.
How are cisternal and exoplasmic orientations related?
Cisternal means toward the lumen of the ER/Golgi/vesicle. When a vesicle fuses with the plasma membrane, the cisternal proteins and lipids will become exoplasmic, meaning that it is oriented towards the extracellular side of the cell.
What cellular membrane has the highest concenteration of phosphatidylcholine?
The ER membrane has the highest concentration of PC with about 55%
How is membrane asymmetry achieved?
Lipid-modifying enzymes can alter lipids directly in the membrane (ex: PI4PK)
Lipid sorting occurs during vesicle budding, determining which lipids are included in the vesicle.
Phospholipid transfer proteins can shuttle lipids from one compartment to another
What is one clinical application of phospholipid transfer proteins?
In mice, these proteins have been shown to be highly active in atherosclerosis. Deletion prevents atherosclerosis.
These proteins are thus a potential drug target for treating atherosclerosis.
What is dolichol?
A carrier lipid involved in protein glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum.
What sugar is always added first during the protein glycosylation in the ER? What happens to it first?
GlcNAc. which is then phosphorylated by GlcNAc-1-phosphotransferase.
This can be inhibited by tunicamycin
Describe the protein glycosylation process in the ER.
1) The first sugar is linked to the cytosolic side of the ER membrane via a high energy pyrophosphate bond.
2) Branched mannose residues are added
3) The glycosylated protein then flips to face the luminal side of the ER
4) More sugars are added inside the ER
5) The finished oligosaccharide is transfered to a Asn residue on a nascent polypeptide as it is synthesized.
What protein is responsible for flipping the DolPP-GlcNAc2-Man5 across the ER membrane?
RFT1
What is the function of oligosaccharyl transferase (OST)?
It transfers the finished N-glycan structure to an asparagine residue at the Asn-X-Ser/Thr site on the nascent polypeptide.
How are sugars transfered from the cytosol to the ER lumen?
They are transfered one at a time from nucleotide activated sugars (ex: UDP) by specific transmembrane antiporters.
In higher organisms, what are the additional carbohydrate modifications that occur in the ER lumen?
- Glucosidase I and II remove two (of three) Glu residues from the branched mannose complex
- Calnexin guides the protein to another glucosidease II, which removes the last Glu
- Glycosyl transferase checks for misfolding by looking for exposed hydrophobic residues
- GT will keep checking and initiating refolding until it is folded correctly
What is ERAD?
ER-associated degradation
This process degrades misfolded proteins inside of proteosomes.
What is the unfolded protein response?
Triggered when misfolded proteins back up in the ER.
Misfolded protein sensors are normally kept inactive by binding protein (BiP)
Sensors respond by either:
1) Dimerizing and phosphorylating elF2alpha which stops protein translation
2) Cytosoloic portion of sensor is cleaved and translocated to the nucleus to induce transcription of genes to relieve ER stress
What are transitional elements?
Budding vesicles from the ER on their way to the Golgi
Describe the structure of the Gogli Complex
Two networks with three levels of cisternae
cis is closest to the ER, medial is central, and trans is the side of release of vesicles
The membrane sacs are supported by cytoskeletal proteins
How do the functions of the different portions of the golgi complex differ?
The CGN sorts proteins to return to the ER and those to proceed through the golgi
The TGN sorts proteins into appropriate vesicles for secretion.
List the stains usable for identifying the cis, medial and trans cisternae, respectively.
Cis: osmium tetroxide
Medial: mannosidase II antibodies
Trans: Nucleoside diphosphitase antibodies
Where does complex glycosylation occur?
In the Golgi complex
What determines the order of sugar attachment in the Golgi?
The spatial arrangement of the transferases within the golgi
The amino acid sequence around site of sugar attachment
What are the two models for how materials move through the Golgi?
1) Vesicular transport model
2) Cisternal maturation model
What is the difference between the vesicular transport model and the cisternal maturation model?
The VTM states that cisternae are immobile and materials move between them by budding.
The CMM states that the cisternae move towards the trans face of the golgi with the lumenal contents maturing along the way.
Research supports the VTM because enzyme contents of individual cisternae appear to be constant