The protein translocation machinery of the endoplasmic reticulum

The rough endoplasmic reticulum (r.e.r.) has been postulated to possess a single translation-coupled translocation system (in multiple copies) that effects signal sequence-mediated translocation of all secretory and lysosomal proteins and integration of all integral membrane proteins whose port of entry is the rough endoplasmic reticulum (G. Blobel 1980 Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77, 1496—1500). Two proteins have been isolated that are components of the r.e.r. translocation system. Their properties and function in protein translocation across and integration into membranes are discussed.

1999 ◽  
Vol 380 (10) ◽  
pp. 1143-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom A. Rapoport ◽  
Kent E.S. Matlack ◽  
Kathrin Plath ◽  
Benjamin Misselwitz ◽  
Oliver Staeck

AbstractPosttranslational protein translocation across the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum is mediated by the Sec complex. This complex includes a transmembrane channel formed by multiple copies of the Sec61 protein. Translocation of a polypeptide begins when the signal sequence binds at a specific site within the channel. Binding results in the insertion of the substrate into the channel, possibly as a loop with a small segment exposed to the lumen. While bound, the signal sequence is in contact with both protein components of the channel and the lipid of the membrane. Subsequent movement of the polypeptide through the channel occurs when BiP molecules interact transiently with a luminal domain of the Sec complex, hydrolyze ATP, and bind to the substrate. Bound BiP promotes translocation by preventing the substrate from diffusing backwards through the channel, and thus acts as a molecular ratchet.


1991 ◽  
Vol 2 (10) ◽  
pp. 851-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
D L Zimmerman ◽  
P Walter

The role of nucleotides in providing energy for polypeptide transfer across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane is still unknown. To address this question, we treated ER-derived mammalian microsomal vesicles with a photoactivatable analogue of ATP, 8-N3ATP. This treatment resulted in a progressive inhibition of translocation activity. Approximately 20 microsomal membrane proteins were labeled by [alpha 32P]8-N3ATP. Two of these were identified as proteins with putative roles in translocation, alpha signal sequence receptor (SSR), the 35-kDa subunit of the signal sequence receptor complex, and ER-p180, a putative ribosome receptor. We found that there was a positive correlation between inactivation of translocation activity and photolabeling of alpha SSR. In contrast, our data demonstrate that the ATP-binding domain of ER-p180 is dispensable for translocation activity and does not contribute to the observed 8-N3ATP sensitivity of the microsomal vesicles.


2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Jie HENG ◽  
Yan WU ◽  
Xianping WANG ◽  
Kai ZHANG

1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 1733-1740 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Yamamoto ◽  
R Masaki ◽  
Y Tashiro

The Golgi apparatus mediates intracellular transport of not only secretory and lysosomal proteins but also membrane proteins. As a typical marker membrane protein for endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of rat hepatocytes, we have selected phenobarbital (PB)-inducible cytochrome P-450 (P-450[PB]) and investigated whether P-450(PB) is transported to the Golgi apparatus or not by combining biochemical and quantitative ferritin immunoelectron microscopic techniques. We found that P-450(PB) was not detectable on the membrane of Golgi cisternae either when P-450 was maximally induced by phenobarbital treatment or when P-450 content in the microsomes rapidly decreased after cessation of the treatment. The P-450 detected biochemically in the Golgi subcellular fraction can be explained by the contamination of the microsomal vesicles derived from fragmented ER membranes to the Golgi fraction. We conclude that when the transfer vesicles are formed by budding on the transitional elements of ER, P-450 is completely excluded from such regions and is not transported to the Golgi apparatus, and only the membrane proteins destined for the Golgi apparatus, plasma membranes, or lysosomes are selectively collected and transported.


1988 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 1093-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
P D Garcia ◽  
J H Ou ◽  
W J Rutter ◽  
P Walter

The major hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein is a viral structural protein involved in nucleic acid binding. Its coding sequence contains an extension of 29 codons (the "precore" region) at the amino terminus of the protein which is present in a fraction of the viral transcripts. This region is evolutionarily conserved among mammalian and avian HBVs, suggesting it has functional importance, although at least for duck HBV it has been shown to be nonessential for replication of infectious virions. Using in vitro assays for protein translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, we found that the precore region of the HBV genome encodes a signal sequence. This signal sequence was recognized by signal recognition particle, which targeted the nascent precore protein to the endoplasmic reticulum membrane with efficiencies comparable to those of other mammalian secretory proteins. A 19-amino acid signal peptide was removed by signal peptidase on the lumenal side of the microsomal membrane, generating a protein similar to the HBV major core protein, but containing 10 additional amino acids from the precore region at its amino terminus. Surprisingly, we found that 70-80% of this signal peptidase-cleaved product was localized on the cytoplasmic side of the microsomal vesicles and was not associated with the membranes. We conclude that translocation was aborted by an unknown mechanism, then the protein disengaged from the translocation machinery and was released back into the cytoplasm. Thus, a cytoplasmically disposed protein was created whose amino terminus resulted from signal peptidase cleavage. The remaining 20-30% appeared to be completely translocated into the lumen of the microsomes. A deletion mutant lacking the carboxy-terminal nucleic acid binding domain of the precore protein was similarly partitioned between the lumen of the microsomes and the cytoplasmic compartment, indicating that this highly charged domain is not responsible for the aborted translocation. We discuss the implications of our findings for the protein translocation process and suggest a possible role in the virus life cycle.


1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dünnwald ◽  
Alexander Varshavsky ◽  
Nils Johnsson

The split-ubiquitin technique was used to detect transient protein interactions in living cells. Nub, the N-terminal half of ubiquitin (Ub), was fused to Sec62p, a component of the protein translocation machinery in the endoplasmic reticulum ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae. Cub, the C-terminal half of Ub, was fused to the C terminus of a signal sequence. The reconstitution of a quasi-native Ub structure from the two halves of Ub, and the resulting cleavage by Ub-specific proteases at the C terminus of Cub, serve as a gauge of proximity between the two test proteins linked to Nub and Cub. Using this assay, we show that Sec62p is spatially close to the signal sequence of the prepro-α-factor in vivo. This proximity is confined to the nascent polypeptide chain immediately following the signal sequence. In addition, the extent of proximity depends on the nature of the signal sequence. Cub fusions that bore the signal sequence of invertase resulted in a much lower Ub reconstitution with Nub-Sec62p than otherwise identical test proteins bearing the signal sequence of prepro-α-factor. An inactive derivative of Sec62p failed to interact with signal sequences in this assay. These in vivo findings are consistent with Sec62p being part of a signal sequence-binding complex.


1997 ◽  
Vol 323 (3) ◽  
pp. 749-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna PALUMBO ◽  
Anna DI COSMO ◽  
Ida GESUALDO ◽  
Vincent J. HEARING

The ink gland of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis has traditionally been regarded as a convenient model system for investigating melanogenesis. This gland has been shown to contain a variety of melanogenic enzymes including tyrosinase, a dopachrome-rearranging enzyme and peroxidase. However, whether and to what extent these enzymes co-localize in the melanogenic compartments and interact is an open question. Using polyclonal antibodies that recognize the corresponding Sepia proteins, we have been able to demonstrate that peroxidase has a different subcellular localization pattern from tyrosinase and dopachrome-rearranging enzyme. Whereas peroxidase is located in the rough endoplasmic reticulum and in the matrix of premelanosomes and melanosomes, tyrosinase and dopachrome-rearranging enzyme are present in the rough endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi transport system, at the level of trans-Golgi cisternae, trans-Golgi network and coated vesicles, and in melanosomes on pigmented granules. These results fill a longstanding gap in our knowledge of the melanin-producing system in Sepia and provide the necessary background for dissection at the molecular level of the complex interaction between melanogenic enzymes. Moreover, the peculiar and complex organization of melanin in an invertebrate such as Sepia officinalis is surprising and could provide the basis for understanding the process in more evolved systems such as that of mammals.


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