Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Institute of Biochemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2015 Aug;35:7-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2015.03.002. Epub 2015 Mar 30.
A standout feature of eukaryotic cells is the presence of organelles with distinct chemical compositions and physical properties, which aid in the accomplishment of specialized metabolic tasks. This complex topology, however, makes a permanent crosstalk between the organelles a necessity for the coordination of cellular function. While molecule exchange between organelles via the vesicular transport system has been extensively studied, communication via direct connections has only recently become a new matter of interest. These direct connections termed membrane contact sites (MCSs) represent zones of close proximity (10-30nm) between two organelles. Research in the past years has revealed a number of MCSs especially between the ER and almost every other organelle [1(•)]. In particular, the MCSs between the ER and the mitochondria have undergone intense investigation. While the quest for ER-mitochondria MCS components in human cells has led to the revelation of an ever growing number of potential factors, studies in the simpler eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed the actual existence of a molecular tether between the two organelles [2(••)].
真核细胞的一个显著特点是存在具有独特化学成分和物理性质的细胞器，这有助于完成专门的代谢任务。然而，这种复杂的拓扑结构使得细胞器之间必须进行永久性的交流，以协调细胞功能。虽然通过囊泡运输系统在细胞器之间进行分子交换已经得到了广泛的研究，但通过直接连接进行的通信最近才成为一个新的研究课题。这些直接连接被称为膜接触位点（MCS），代表两个细胞器之间的近距离区域（10-30nm）。过去几年的研究揭示了许多 MCS，特别是在 ER 和几乎其他所有细胞器之间[1(•)]。特别是，ER 和线粒体之间的 MCS 受到了强烈的关注。虽然在人类细胞中寻找 ER-线粒体 MCS 成分的研究导致了越来越多的潜在因素的揭示，但在更简单的真核生物酿酒酵母中的研究揭示了这两个细胞器之间存在一种分子连接[2(••)]。
