One third of the proteins essential for life processes are produced in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the cell and distributed via membrane vesicles. Sorting of proteins at ER exit sites and transport to the Golgi apparatus is orchestrated by the so-called COPII protein coat complexes, but not as previously thought. Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU), Israel, and the Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena, Germany, have now found that the COPII complexes do not leave the ER for transport. They remain as gatekeepers at ER exit sites from where they control the protein recruitment, sorting and exit to the Golgi. The new findings could lead to a paradigm shift in cell biology.
Click here for original story, Paradigm change in cell biology? Protein transport does not appear to work as we thought
Source: Phys.org