Membrane trafficking Flashcards
Why do eukaryotes need membrane trafficking?
compartmentalisation allows more complexity
enzymes can modify subsets of proteins in certain environments
sequential modifications require exposure to distinct sets of enzymes
important in retrieval of proteins back to resident compartment
Secretory/ exocytic pathway
ER
golgi
PM/endosome/lysosome
Endocytic pathway
cell surface
endosome
golgi/ER/lysosome
How are proteins modified in the ER/golgi?
glycosylation
proteolytic cleaving
What happens in the ER lumen?
addition of pre-formed oligosaccharide to an aspargine amino acid in a consensus sequence
What happens in the golgi?
further sugars are added and structure can be further branched
oligosaccharide group is trimmed
What is the purpose for glycosylation?
to assist folding for trafficking and sorting inside the cell
to assist interactions with the ECM and with other proteins/sugars on other cells
Advantages of yeast as a model organism
amenable for genetic studies as they can grow as haploid or diploid
entire genome sequence is fully known and annotated
cheap and easy to grow large quantities
limited gene diversity + fundamental pathways conserved
Disadvantages of yeast as a model organism
limited cell to cell contact so uninformative about multicellularity
small so high resolution imaging of intracellular compartments difficult
cell wall which can preclude some studies
What was the rationale for the Novick and Scheckman experiment?
if proteins couldn’t be secreted the cell would increase density as vesicles accumulate
Novick and Schekman experiment
cells were analyses for their ability to secrete enzymes at permissive and restrictive temps
defined secretory mutants as those that failed to export active invertase and acid phosphatase
23 genes identified to be required to ensure protein transport from ER to membrane
Novick and Schekman experiment
cells were analyses for their ability to secrete enzymes at permissive and restrictive temps
defined secretory mutants as those that failed to export active invertase and acid phosphatase
23 genes identified to be required to ensure protein transport from ER to membrane
What does alpha factor have to do with the secretory pathway?
it is glycosylated and proteolytically cleaved at different stages
this helps us to follow it progress
What are the limitations of Novick and Schekman’s experiment?
only considered secretion to plasma membrane
defects in transport to endosome or vacuole would not be identified
redundantly functioning genes would not be identified as there isn’t much of this in yeast
Endocytosis
process through which the plasma membrane invaginates into the cell resulting in the production of a vesicle that is then able to fuse with endosomes and enter the endo-lysosomal system
What is endocytosis important for?
retrieval of molecules that form part of the secretory vesicle for recycling
downregulation of signals
remodelling cell surface lipid and protein composition
Stages in the endocytic pathway
plasma membrane → endocytic vesicle → early endosome → late endosome or recycling to the plasma membrane → golgi or vacuole
What is the major function of a lysosome/vacuole in endocytosis?
degradation of extracellular material taken up by endocytosis and certain intracellular components by a process termed autophagy
Carboxypeptidase Y
normally transported to lysosomes having been trafficked through ER and golgi
glycosylated and proteolytically cleaved at different stages which helps us follow its progress
How are vacuolar mutants classed?
depending on what stage at which they appear to block the route to the vacuole
What are the 4 possible destinations from the late golgi?
plasma membrane
early endosome
late endosome
vacuole
CPY transport
synthesised in prepro form and transported through to ER to the golgi where it is recognised by Vsp10 receptor
dissociates from Vsp10 at late endosome and trasnported to vacuoles where it is cleaved to generate mature form
Vsp10 retrieved to late golgi through specific aromatic signal in its protein sequence
What does the transport of CPY require?
cytoplasmic factors clathrin
2 adaptors called Gga1 and Gga2
Nuclear pores
consists of multiple copies of 30 different nucleoporins
each complex is made of 8 subunits with a central plug
contains DNA, nuclear pore proteins and tight junctions
Examples of substances moved across the nuclear envelope by pore complexes
transporting histones from the cytoplasm for packaging of new DNA
ribosomal units formed in the nucleus being transported into the cytoplasm
What amino acids are rich in nuclear transport recognition sites?
Lys
Arg
Pro
What is required for mRNA transport?
ATP hydrolysis
as it is inhibited by cooling to 4 degrees
What happens in the absence of ATP in protein transport?
the protein binds to the pore complex but remains outside the nucleus
Why must ribosomes be so closely associated with the ER membrane?
newly made proteins can be translocated into organelles co or post translationally
the majority are co-translationally translocated
How is a soluble protein destined for secretion synthesised co-translationally?
Signal sequence on growing polypeptide chain → cleavage of signal peptide → (through signal peptidase) NH2 → mature polypeptide chain in the ER lumen
How is the ER lumen adapted for protein synthesis and modification?
ER lumen is rich in chaperones and protein disulphide isomerases which allows the formation of sulfide linkages within proteins
How are membrane proteins inserted into the ER?
signal sequence that starts the transfer is recognised by sec61, the translocator → fed through but encounters a stop transfer sequence, usually a hydrophobic part of the protein -> means it is anchored to the ER → so the rest of the protein is exposed to the cytoplasm