Xu Haoxing, Martinoia Enrico, Szabo Ildiko
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, 3089 Natural Science Building (Kraus), 830 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048, USA.
Institute of Plant Biology, University of Zürich, Zollikerstr. 107, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland.
Cell Calcium. 2015 Jul;58(1):1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2015.02.006. Epub 2015 Mar 2.
Decades of intensive research have led to the discovery of most plasma membrane ion channels and transporters and the characterization of their physiological functions. In contrast, although over 80% of transport processes occur inside the cells, the ion flux mechanisms across intracellular membranes (the endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, endosomes, lysosomes, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles) are difficult to investigate and remain poorly understood. Recent technical advances in super-resolution microscopy, organellar electrophysiology, organelle-targeted fluorescence imaging, and organelle proteomics have pushed a large step forward in the research of intracellular ion transport. Many new organellar channels are molecularly identified and electrophysiologically characterized. Additionally, molecular identification of many of these ion channels/transporters has made it possible to study their physiological functions by genetic and pharmacological means. For example, organellar channels have been shown to regulate important cellular processes such as programmed cell death and photosynthesis, and are involved in many different pathologies. This special issue (SI) on organellar channels and transporters aims to provide a forum to discuss the recent advances and to define the standard and open questions in this exciting and rapidly developing field. Along this line, a new Gordon Research Conference dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of intracellular membrane transport proteins will be launched this coming summer.
数十年的深入研究已促成了大多数质膜离子通道和转运体的发现及其生理功能的表征。相比之下，尽管超过80%的转运过程发生在细胞内部，但跨细胞内膜（内质网、高尔基体、内体、溶酶体、线粒体、叶绿体和液泡）的离子通量机制却难以研究，目前仍知之甚少。超分辨率显微镜、细胞器电生理学、细胞器靶向荧光成像和细胞器蛋白质组学等领域的最新技术进展，推动了细胞内离子转运研究向前迈出了一大步。许多新的细胞器通道已在分子层面得到鉴定，并进行了电生理特性表征。此外，对许多此类离子通道/转运体的分子鉴定，使得通过遗传学和药理学方法研究其生理功能成为可能。例如，细胞器通道已被证明可调节程序性细胞死亡和光合作用等重要细胞过程，并与多种不同的病理学相关。本期关于细胞器通道和转运体的特刊旨在提供一个论坛，以讨论该领域的最新进展，并明确这一令人兴奋且快速发展的领域中的标准问题和悬而未决的问题。为此，一个致力于细胞内膜转运蛋白多学科研究的新戈登研究会议将于今年夏天召开。
