Martoglio B, Dobberstein B
Institut für Biochemie II, ETH-Zentrum, Zürich, Switzerland.
Trends Cell Biol. 1998 Oct;8(10):410-5. doi: 10.1016/s0962-8924(98)01360-9.
Export signal sequences target newly synthesized proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum of eukaryotic cells and the plasma membrane of bacteria. All signal sequences contain a hydrophobic core region, but, despite this, they show great variation in both overall length and amino acid sequence. Recently, it has become clear that this variation allows signal sequences to specify different modes of targeting and membrane insertion and even to perform functions after being cleaved from the parent protein. This review argues that signal sequences are not simply greasy peptides but sophisticated, multipurpose peptides containing a wealth of functional information.
输出信号序列将新合成的蛋白质靶向真核细胞的内质网和细菌的质膜。所有信号序列都包含一个疏水核心区域，尽管如此，它们在总长度和氨基酸序列上都表现出很大的差异。最近，已经清楚的是，这种差异使信号序列能够指定不同的靶向和膜插入模式，甚至在从母体蛋白质上切割下来后还能发挥功能。这篇综述认为，信号序列并非简单的油腻肽，而是含有丰富功能信息的复杂多功能肽。
