Sortilin as a marker of atherosclerosis: biological and pathophysiological aspects

Subclinical atherosclerosis is an independent predictor of increased cardiovascular risk, including patients with hypertension. The article provides an overview of the pathogenetic role in atherogenesis and cardiovascular risk stratification of sortilin peptide which belongs to the family of vacuolar sorting receptors of type I. Circulating sortilin impacts both lipid and non-lipid pathogenetic mechanisms of atherogenesis. It can serve as an early biomarker of cardiovascular risk and a potential therapeutic target for dyslipidemia management and atherosclerosis at subclinical level.

Lysosomal and vacuolar sorting: not so different after all!

Soluble hydrolases represent the main proteins of lysosomes and vacuoles and are essential to sustain the lytic properties of these organelles typical for the eukaryotic organisms. The sorting of these proteins from ER residents and secreted proteins is controlled by highly specific receptors to avoid mislocalization and subsequent cellular damage. After binding their soluble cargo in the early stage of the secretory pathway, receptors rely on their own sorting signals to reach their target organelles for ligand delivery, and to recycle back for a new round of cargo recognition. Although signals in cargo and receptor molecules have been studied in human, yeast and plant model systems, common denominators and specific examples of diversification have not been systematically explored. This review aims to fill this niche by comparing the structure and the function of lysosomal/vacuolar sorting receptors (VSRs) from these three organisms.