Vesicular trafficking Flashcards
What are the 3 main trafficking methods within cells?
- Gated transport
- Transmembrane transport
- Vesicular transport
What kind of trafficking occurs between the nucleus and the cytosol?
Gated transport
What is the structure of the nuclear pore? (3)
- Brings together the double nuclear membrane
- Complex consists of nucleoporins
- Each complex is made of 8 subunits with a central plug
What is the function of the nuclear pore? (3)
- Involved in moving substances across the nuclear envelope
- Histones are made at ribosomes in the cytoplasm and need to get into the nucleus to package the DNA
- Ribosomal subunits are made in the nucleolus and have to be transported into the cytoplasm
What are the 2 processes by which substances are transported by the nuclear pore complex?
- Diffusion
- Active transport
What is required for active transport through the nuclear pore? (2)
- Signal
- ATP
What signal is required for active transport through the nuclear pore?
An amino acid sequence that is rich in lysine, arginine and proline
What is an example of a signal in transport through the nuclear pore? (2)
- T-antigen of the SV40 virus contains the sequence Pro-Pro-Lys-Lys-Lys-Arg-Lys-Val
- Mutation of a single amino acid in the sequence prevents nuclear translocation
What experiment would show that an amino acid sequence is necessary and sufficient to cause nuclear transport?
Put the sequence onto a protein that wouldn’t normally enter the nucleus and show that it causes nuclear translocation
What experimental evidence shows that active transport is used in nuclear translocation? (2)
- Cool cells so they can’t make ATP, inhibits mRNA transport out of the nucleus
- In the absence of ATP proteins bind to the pore complex but aren’t translocated, add ATP and they appear in the nucleus
What are the 2 ways in which newly made membrane proteins can be translocated into the ER?
- Co-translational translocation
- Post-translational translocation
What is co-translational translocation?
Protein is being fed into the lumen of the ER as it is being translated by the attached ribosome
What is post-translational translocation?
Proteins are fully made in the cytoplasm by a free ribosome and then transported into the ER after translation
What is the most common way in which secreted/membrane proteins are transported into the ER?
Co-translational translocation
What is the signal hypothesis?
Protein made in the cytoplasm that are targeted to the ER use a signal to direct them to the ER membrane
What are microsomes?
Isolated ER membrane preparation
How is a soluble protein destined for secretion made via co-translational translocation? (5)
- Translocator protein on the ER is usually closed
- Ribosome translating the mRNA is closely associated with the translocator
- Peptide signal in the protein causes the translocator to open and the protein is fed through into the ER lumen as it is being translated
- Peptide signal is cleaved by a signal peptidase
- Full translated polypeptide chain is folded by chaperones in the ER lumen
How are type I membrane proteins inserted into the ER? (3)
- Start-transfer sequence is recognised by the translocator protein
- Protein is fed through the translocator until it reaches a hydrophobic stop-transfer sequence
- Start-transfer sequence is cleaved off and the stop-transfer sequence remains in the membrane so the N-terminus is in the ER and the C-terminus is in the cytosol
What is the difference between type I and type II transmembrane proteins?
Type I transmembrane proteins have a cytoplasmic C-terminus and an extracellular/luminal N-terminus whereas type II transmembrane proteins are the other way round
How are type II membrane proteins inserted into the ER? (3)
- Signal sequence is recognised by the translocator
- N-terminus end remains in the cytosol and the C-terminus end is fed through into the ER lumen
- The signal sequence acts as the transmembrane domain
How is proper protein folded ensured in the ER? (3)
- BiP chaperone associates with newly made proteins until they are folded correctly
- Proteins are retained in the ER lumen until they are correctly folded
- Misfolded proteins are reverse translocated into the cytoplasm and degraded
What is the function of glycosylation in the ER?
Ensures good quality control
How can protein misfolding cause disease?
CFTRdelta508 mutation causes misfolding in CFTR which is recognised by quality control machinery so the mutant CFTR is retained in the ER membrane
What is triggered by a high number of misfolded proteins in the ER?
Unfolded protein response (UPR)
What happens in the UPR? (3)
- Stop translation
- Upregulate synthesis of chaperones
- Cells can recover but if the cell is overwhelmed apoptosis is triggered
Which method is used to get proteins into the mitochondrial matrix?
Post-translational translocation