Endosomes are a collection of intracellular sorting organelles in eukaryotic cells. They are parts of endocytic membrane transport pathway originating from the trans Golgi network. Molecules or ligands internalized from the plasma membrane can follow this pathway all the way to lysosomes for degradation or can be recycled back to the cell membrane in the endocytic cycle. Molecules are also transported to endosomes from the trans Golgi network and either continue to lysosomes or recycle back to the Golgi apparatus.
Endosomes can be classified as early, sorting, or late depending on their stage post internalization. [1] Endosomes represent a major sorting compartment of the endomembrane system in cells. [2]
Endosomes provide an environment for material to be sorted before it reaches the degradative lysosome. [2] For example, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is taken into the cell by binding to the LDL receptor at the cell surface. Upon reaching early endosomes, the LDL dissociates from the receptor, and the receptor can be recycled to the cell surface. The LDL remains in the endosome and is delivered to lysosomes for processing. LDL dissociates because of the slightly acidified environment of the early endosome, generated by a vacuolar membrane proton pump V-ATPase. On the other hand, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the EGF receptor have a pH-resistant bond that persists until it is delivered to lysosomes for their degradation. The mannose 6-phosphate receptor carries ligands from the Golgi destined for the lysosome by a similar mechanism.
There are three different types of endosomes: early endosomes, late endosomes, and recycling endosomes. [2] They are distinguished by the time it takes for endocytosed material to reach them, and by markers such as Rabs. [3] They also have different morphology. Once endocytic vesicles have uncoated, they fuse with early endosomes. Early endosomes then mature into late endosomes before fusing with lysosomes. [4] [5]
Early endosomes mature in several ways to form late endosomes. They become increasingly acidic mainly through the activity of the V-ATPase. [6] Many molecules that are recycled are removed by concentration in the tubular regions of early endosomes. Loss of these tubules to recycling pathways means that late endosomes mostly lack tubules. They also increase in size due to the homotypic fusion of early endosomes into larger vesicles. [7] Molecules are also sorted into smaller vesicles that bud from the perimeter membrane into the endosome lumen, forming intraluminal vesicles (ILVs); this leads to the multivesicular appearance of late endosomes and so they are also known as multivesicular endosomes or multivesicular bodies (MVBs). Removal of recycling molecules such as transferrin receptors and mannose 6-phosphate receptors continues during this period, probably via budding of vesicles out of endosomes. [4] Finally, the endosomes lose RAB5A and acquire RAB7A, making them competent for fusion with lysosomes. [7]
Fusion of late endosomes with lysosomes has been shown to result in the formation of a 'hybrid' compartment, with characteristics intermediate of the two source compartments. [8] For example, lysosomes are more dense than late endosomes, and the hybrids have an intermediate density. Lysosomes reform by recondensation to their normal, higher density. However, before this happens, more late endosomes may fuse with the hybrid.
Some material recycles to the plasma membrane directly from early endosomes, [9] but most traffics via recycling endosomes.
More subtypes exist in specialized cells such as polarized cells and macrophages.
Phagosomes, macropinosomes and autophagosomes [14] mature in a manner similar to endosomes, and may require fusion with normal endosomes for their maturation. Some intracellular pathogens subvert this process, for example, by preventing RAB7 acquisition. [15]
Late endosomes/MVBs are sometimes called endocytic carrier vesicles, but this term was used to describe vesicles that bud from early endosomes and fuse with late endosomes. However, several observations (described above) have now demonstrated that it is more likely that transport between these two compartments occurs by a maturation process, rather than vesicle transport.
Another unique identifying feature that differs between the various classes of endosomes is the lipid composition in their membranes. Phosphatidyl inositol phosphates (PIPs), one of the most important lipid signaling molecules, is found to differ as the endosomes mature from early to late. PI(4,5)P2 is present on plasma membranes, PI(3)P on early endosomes, PI(3,5)P2 on late endosomes and PI(4)P on the trans Golgi network. [16] These lipids on the surface of the endosomes help in the specific recruitment of proteins from the cytosol, thus providing them an identity. The inter-conversion of these lipids is a result of the concerted action of phosphoinositide kinases and phosphatases that are strategically localized [17]
There are three main compartments that have pathways that connect with endosomes. More pathways exist in specialized cells, such as melanocytes and polarized cells. For example, in epithelial cells, a special process called transcytosis allows some materials to enter one side of a cell and exit from the opposite side. Also, in some circumstances, late endosomes/MVBs fuse with the plasma membrane instead of with lysosomes, releasing the lumenal vesicles, now called exosomes, into the extracellular medium.
There is no consensus as to the exact nature of these pathways, and the sequential route taken by any given cargo in any given situation will tend to be a matter of debate.
Vesicles pass between the Golgi and endosomes in both directions. The GGAs and AP-1 clathrin-coated vesicle adaptors make vesicles at the Golgi that carry molecules to endosomes. [18] In the opposite direction, retromer generates vesicles at early endosomes that carry molecules back to the Golgi. Some studies describe a retrograde traffic pathway from late endosomes to the Golgi that is mediated by Rab9 and TIP47, but other studies dispute these findings. Molecules that follow these pathways include the mannose-6-phosphate receptors that carry lysosomal hydrolases to the endocytic pathway. The hydrolases are released in the acidic environment of endosomes, and the receptor is retrieved to the Golgi by retromer and Rab9.
Molecules are delivered from the plasma membrane to early endosomes in endocytic vesicles. Molecules can be internalized via receptor-mediated endocytosis in clathrin-coated vesicles. Other types of vesicles also form at the plasma membrane for this pathway, including ones utilising caveolin. Vesicles also transport molecules directly back to the plasma membrane, but many molecules are transported in vesicles that first fuse with recycling endosomes. [19] Molecules following this recycling pathway are concentrated in the tubules of early endosomes. Molecules that follow these pathways include the receptors for LDL, epidermal growth factor (EGF), and the iron transport protein transferrin. Internalization of these receptors from the plasma membrane occurs by receptor-mediated endocytosis. LDL is released in endosomes because of the lower pH, and the receptor is recycled to the cell surface. Cholesterol is carried in the blood primarily by (LDL), and transport by the LDL receptor is the main mechanism by which cholesterol is taken up by cells. EGFRs are activated when EGF binds. The activated receptors stimulate their own internalization and degradation in lysosomes. EGF remains bound to the EGF receptor (EGFR) once it is endocytosed to endosomes. The activated EGFRs stimulate their own ubiquitination, and this directs them to lumenal vesicles (see below) and so they are not recycled to the plasma membrane. This removes the signaling portion of the protein from the cytosol and thus prevents continued stimulation of growth [20] - in cells not stimulated with EGF, EGFRs have no EGF bound to them and therefore recycle if they reach endosomes. [21] Transferrin also remains associated with its receptor, but, in the acidic endosome, iron is released from the transferrin, and then the iron-free transferrin (still bound to the transferrin receptor) returns from the early endosome to the cell surface, both directly and via recycling endosomes. [22]
Transport from late endosomes to lysosomes is, in essence, unidirectional, since a late endosome is "consumed" in the process of fusing with a lysosome (sometimes called endolysosome [23] [24] ).Hence, soluble molecules in the lumen of endosomes will tend to end up in lysosomes, unless they are retrieved in some way. Transmembrane proteins can be delivered to the perimeter membrane or the lumen of lysosomes. Transmembrane proteins destined for the lysosome lumen are sorted into the vesicles that bud from the perimeter membrane into endosomes, a process that begins in early endosomes. The process of creating vesicles within the endosome is thought to be enhanced by the peculiar lipid BMP or LBPA, which is only found in late endosomes, endolysosomes or lysosomes. [12] When the endosome has matured into a late endosome/MVB and fuses with a lysosome, the vesicles in the lumen are delivered to the lysosome lumen. Proteins are marked for this pathway by the addition of ubiquitin. [25] The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRTs) recognise this ubiquitin and sort the protein into the forming lumenal vesicles. [26] Molecules that follow these pathways include LDL and the lysosomal hydrolases delivered by mannose-6-phosphate receptors. These soluble molecules remain in endosomes and are therefore delivered to lysosomes. Also, the transmembrane EGFRs, bound to EGF, are tagged with ubiquitin and are therefore sorted into lumenal vesicles by the ESCRTs.
The endomembrane system is composed of the different membranes (endomembranes) that are suspended in the cytoplasm within a eukaryotic cell. These membranes divide the cell into functional and structural compartments, or organelles. In eukaryotes the organelles of the endomembrane system include: the nuclear membrane, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, vesicles, endosomes, and plasma (cell) membrane among others. The system is defined more accurately as the set of membranes that forms a single functional and developmental unit, either being connected directly, or exchanging material through vesicle transport. Importantly, the endomembrane system does not include the membranes of plastids or mitochondria, but might have evolved partially from the actions of the latter.
Endocytosis is a cellular process in which substances are brought into the cell. The material to be internalized is surrounded by an area of cell membrane, which then buds off inside the cell to form a vesicle containing the ingested material. Endocytosis includes pinocytosis and phagocytosis. It is a form of active transport.
The Golgi apparatus, also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. Part of the endomembrane system in the cytoplasm, it packages proteins into membrane-bound vesicles inside the cell before the vesicles are sent to their destination. It resides at the intersection of the secretory, lysosomal, and endocytic pathways. It is of particular importance in processing proteins for secretion, containing a set of glycosylation enzymes that attach various sugar monomers to proteins as the proteins move through the apparatus.
In cell biology, a vesicle is a structure within or outside a cell, consisting of liquid or cytoplasm enclosed by a lipid bilayer. Vesicles form naturally during the processes of secretion (exocytosis), uptake (endocytosis), and the transport of materials within the plasma membrane. Alternatively, they may be prepared artificially, in which case they are called liposomes. If there is only one phospholipid bilayer, the vesicles are called unilamellar liposomes; otherwise they are called multilamellar liposomes. The membrane enclosing the vesicle is also a lamellar phase, similar to that of the plasma membrane, and intracellular vesicles can fuse with the plasma membrane to release their contents outside the cell. Vesicles can also fuse with other organelles within the cell. A vesicle released from the cell is known as an extracellular vesicle.
In biology, caveolae, which are a special type of lipid raft, are small invaginations of the plasma membrane in the cells of many vertebrates. They are the most abundant surface feature of many vertebrate cell types, especially endothelial cells, adipocytes and embryonic notochord cells. They were originally discovered by E. Yamada in 1955.
In cellular biology, pinocytosis, otherwise known as fluid endocytosis and bulk-phase pinocytosis, is a mode of endocytosis in which small molecules dissolved in extracellular fluid are brought into the cell through an invagination of the cell membrane, resulting in their containment within a small vesicle inside the cell. These pinocytotic vesicles then typically fuse with early endosomes to hydrolyze the particles.
Receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME), also called clathrin-mediated endocytosis, is a process by which cells absorb metabolites, hormones, proteins – and in some cases viruses – by the inward budding of the plasma membrane (invagination). This process forms vesicles containing the absorbed substances and is strictly mediated by receptors on the surface of the cell. Only the receptor-specific substances can enter the cell through this process.
In cell biology, a phagosome is a vesicle formed around a particle engulfed by a phagocyte via phagocytosis. Professional phagocytes include macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells (DCs).
The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) is a mosaic protein of 839 amino acids that mediates the endocytosis of cholesterol-rich low-density lipoprotein (LDL). It is a cell-surface receptor that recognizes apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB100), which is embedded in the outer phospholipid layer of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), their remnants—i.e. intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), and LDL particles. The receptor also recognizes apolipoprotein E (ApoE) which is found in chylomicron remnants and IDL. In humans, the LDL receptor protein is encoded by the LDLR gene on chromosome 19. It belongs to the low density lipoprotein receptor gene family. It is most significantly expressed in bronchial epithelial cells and adrenal gland and cortex tissue.
Retromer is a complex of proteins that has been shown to be important in recycling transmembrane receptors from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and directly back to the plasma membrane. Mutations in retromer and its associated proteins have been linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
Rab11 family-interacting protein 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RAB11FIP5 gene.
Ras-related protein Rab-11B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RAB11B gene. Rab11b is reported as most abundantly expressed in brain, heart and testes.
The endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) machinery is made up of cytosolic protein complexes, known as ESCRT-0, ESCRT-I, ESCRT-II, and ESCRT-III. Together with a number of accessory proteins, these ESCRT complexes enable a unique mode of membrane remodeling that results in membranes bending/budding away from the cytoplasm. These ESCRT components have been isolated and studied in a number of organisms including yeast and humans. A eukaryotic signature protein, the machinery is found in all eukaryotes and some archaea.
-Cytosis is a suffix that either refers to certain aspects of cells ie cellular process or phenomenon or sometimes refers to predominance of certain type of cells. It essentially means "of the cell". Sometimes it may be shortened to -osis and may be related to some of the processes ending with -esis or similar suffixes.
The EHD protein family is a relatively small group of proteins which have been shown to play a role in several physiological functions, the most notable being the regulation of endocytotic vesicles. This family is recognized by its highly conserved EH domain, a structural motif that has been shown to facilitate specificity and interaction between protein and ligand. The four mammalian EHD proteins that have been classified are: EHD1, EHD2, EHD3, and EHD4.
Clathrin adaptor proteins, also known as adaptins, are vesicular transport adaptor proteins associated with clathrin. These proteins are synthesized in the ribosomes, processed in the endoplasmic reticulum and transported from the Golgi apparatus to the trans-Golgi network, and from there via small carrier vesicles to their final destination compartment. The association between adaptins and clathrin are important for vesicular cargo selection and transporting. Clathrin coats contain both clathrin and adaptor complexes that link clathrin to receptors in coated vesicles. Clathrin-associated protein complexes are believed to interact with the cytoplasmic tails of membrane proteins, leading to their selection and concentration. Therefore, adaptor proteins are responsible for the recruitment of cargo molecules into a growing clathrin-coated pits. The two major types of clathrin adaptor complexes are the heterotetrameric vesicular transport adaptor proteins (AP1-5), and the monomeric GGA adaptors. Adaptins are distantly related to the other main type of vesicular transport proteins, the coatomer subunits, sharing between 16% and 26% of their amino acid sequence.
Unconventional protein secretion represents a manner in which the proteins are delivered to the surface of plasma membrane or extracellular matrix independent of the endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus. This includes cytokines and mitogens with crucial function in complex processes such as inflammatory response or tumor-induced angiogenesis. Most of these proteins are involved in processes in higher eukaryotes, however an unconventional export mechanism was found in lower eukaryotes too. Even proteins folded in their correct conformation can pass plasma membrane this way, unlike proteins transported via ER/Golgi pathway. Two types of unconventional protein secretion are these: signal-peptid-containing proteins and cytoplasmatic and nuclear proteins that are missing an ER-signal peptide (1).
Membrane vesicle trafficking in eukaryotic animal cells involves movement of biochemical signal molecules from synthesis-and-packaging locations in the Golgi body to specific release locations on the inside of the plasma membrane of the secretory cell. It takes place in the form of Golgi membrane-bound micro-sized vesicles, termed membrane vesicles (MVs).
Intracellular transport is the movement of vesicles and substances within a cell. Intracellular transport is required for maintaining homeostasis within the cell by responding to physiological signals. Proteins synthesized in the cytosol are distributed to their respective organelles, according to their specific amino acid’s sorting sequence. Eukaryotic cells transport packets of components to particular intracellular locations by attaching them to molecular motors that haul them along microtubules and actin filaments. Since intracellular transport heavily relies on microtubules for movement, the components of the cytoskeleton play a vital role in trafficking vesicles between organelles and the plasma membrane by providing mechanical support. Through this pathway, it is possible to facilitate the movement of essential molecules such as membrane‐bounded vesicles and organelles, mRNA, and chromosomes.
Jean Gruenberg is a Swiss biologist, and a professor at the University of Geneva. His research in the fields of cell biology and biochemistry has significantly contributed to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the intracellular traffic within eukaryotic cells, more especially in the endolysosomal pathway.