The exocyst is an octameric protein complex involved in vesicle trafficking, specifically the tethering and spatial targeting of post-Golgi vesicles to the plasma membrane prior to vesicle fusion. It is implicated in a number of cell processes, including exocytosis, cell migration, and growth.
The exocyst is composed of eight subunits, whose nomenclature differs between mammalian cells and Saccharomyces cerevisiae .
Subunit | Mammalian cells | Saccharomyces cerevisiae |
---|---|---|
1 | EXOC1 | Sec3 |
2 | EXOC2 | Sec5 |
3 | EXOC3 | Sec6 |
4 | EXOC4 | Sec8 |
5 | EXOC5 | Sec10 |
6 | EXOC6 | Sec15 |
7 | EXOC7 | Exo70 |
8 | EXOC8 | Exo84 |
The exocyst complex serves to direct vesicles after the Golgi complex to specific locations on the plasma membrane and to mediate their tethering and localization to the membrane immediately before fusion. The exocyst complex has also been implicated in the active trafficking of mitochondria from immune cells to cancer cells. [1] Because of this function, the exocyst complex is heavily involved in exocytosis. Sec3 (EXOC1) and Exo70 (EXOC7) are localized to the plasma membrane, and are physically attached to the membrane by Rho GTPases such as CDC42. Other complementary exocyst components such as Sec15 (EXOC6) and Sec4 are localized to the vesicle membrane. Exocyst proteins on the plasma membrane bind vesicular exocyst proteins, bringing the vesicle very close to the plasma membrane in a fashion similar to the SNARE interactions to facilitate fusion.
The exocyst also interacts with Rho GTPases responsible for controlling cell polarity and the activity of the cytoskeleton.
Hints of a multi-subunit complex involved in yeast exocytosis came from work in Peter Novick's group, then at Yale University School of Medicine, in the early 1990s. [2] Works led by Robert Bowser and Daniel TerBush in 1992 and 1995 respectively isolated Sec6p and Sec8p, showing them to participate in a complex of at least eight proteins, found at the site of active exocytosis. [2] [3] [4] In 1996, the same group identified the exocyst member proteins in yeast and coined the name "exocyst" for the complex. [2] [5]
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.
Exocytosis is a form of active transport and bulk transport in which a cell transports molecules out of the cell. As an active transport mechanism, exocytosis requires the use of energy to transport material. Exocytosis and its counterpart, endocytosis, are used by all cells because most chemical substances important to them are large polar molecules that cannot pass through the hydrophobic portion of the cell membrane by passive means. Exocytosis is the process by which a large amount of molecules are released; thus it is a form of bulk transport. Exocytosis occurs via secretory portals at the cell plasma membrane called porosomes. Porosomes are permanent cup-shaped lipoprotein structure at the cell plasma membrane, where secretory vesicles transiently dock and fuse to release intra-vesicular contents from the cell.
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Exocyst complex component 4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EXOC4 gene.
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Exocyst complex component 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EXOC3 gene.
Exocyst complex component 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EXOC5 gene.
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Rab GTPases are molecular switches that regulate membrane traffic. They are active in their GTP-bound form and inactive when bound to GDP. The GTPase YPT1, and its mammalian homologue Rab1, regulate membrane-tethering events on three different pathways: autophagy, ER-Golgi, and intra-Golgi traffic. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many of the ATG proteins needed for macroautophagy are shared with the biosynthetic cytoplasm to the vacuole-targeting (CVT) pathway that transports certain hydrolases into the vacuole. Both pathways require YPT1; however, only the macroautophagy pathway is conserved in higher eukaryotes. In the macroautophagy pathway, Rab1 mediates the recruitment of Atg1 to the PAS. Rab1 regulates macroautophagy by recruiting its effector, Atg1, to the PAS to tether Atg9 vesicles to each other or to other membranes.
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