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A perspective from transport protein particle: Vesicle tether and human diseases

Chunman Li, Sidney Yu

School of Biomedical Sciences and Epithelial Cell Biology Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Abstract

Vesicle-mediated transport of proteins is a highly regulated, multi-step process. When the vesicle is approaching its target membrane compartment, many factors are required to provide specificity and tethering between the incoming vesicle and the target membrane, before vesicle fusion can occur. Tethering factors, which include multisubunit complexes, coiled-coil proteins, with the help of small GTPases, provide the initial interaction between the vesicle and its target membrane. Of the multisubunit tethering factors, the transport protein particle (TRAPP) complexes function in a number of trafficking steps, including endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-to-Golgi transport, intra- and post-Golgi traffic and autophagosome formation. In this review, we summarize the updated progress in structure and function of TRAPP complexes as well as human diseases caused by genetic mutations in TRAPP.

Key words: transport protein particle; vesicles; coat protein complex II; mental retardation; limb girdle muscular dystrophy

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 李春满　　E-mail: b113318@cuhk.edu.hk

Citing This Article：

Chunman Li, Sidney Yu. A perspective from transport protein particle: Vesicle tether and human diseases. Acta Physiol Sin 2014; 66 (1): 1-6 (in Chinese with English abstract).