Proteins are assembled at organelles called ribosomes. When proteins are destined to be part of the cell membrane or exported from the cell, the ribosomes assembling them attach to the endoplasmic reticulum, giving it a rough appearance.
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum lacks ribosomes and helps synthesize and concentrate various substances needed by the cell. The endoplasmic reticulum can either be smooth or rough, and in general its function is to produce proteins for the rest of the cell to function. In electron micrographs, the Golgi apparatus looks like a set of flattened sacs. Vesicles that bud off from the ER fuse with the closest Golgi membranes, called the cis-Golgi.
Molecules then travel through the Golgi apparatus via vesicle transport until they reach the end of the assembly line at the farthest sacs from the ER — called the trans-Golgi. At each workstation along the assembly line, Golgi enzymes catalyze distinct reactions. Later, as vesicles of membrane lipids and proteins bud off from the trans-Golgi, they are directed to their appropriate destinations — either lysosomes, storage vesicles, or the plasma membrane Figure 2. Figure 2: Membrane transport into and out of the cell Transport of molecules within a cell and out of the cell requires a complex endomembrane system.
Endocytosis occurs when the cell membrane engulfs particles dark blue outside the cell, draws the contents in, and forms an intracellular vesicle called an endosome. This vesicle travels through the cell, and its contents are digested as it merges with vesicles containing enzymes from the Golgi. The vesicle is then known as a lysosome when its contents have been digested by the cell. Exocystosis is the process of membrane transport that releases cellular contents outside of the cell.
Here, a transport vesicle from the Golgi or elsewhere in the cell merges its membrane with the plasma membrane and releases its contents. In this way, membranes are continually recycled and reused for different purposes throughout the cell. Membrane transport also occurs between the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi. COPI also forms vesicles for intra-Golgi transport. Clathrin blue forms multiple complexes based on its association with different adaptor proteins APs.
Clathrin that is associated with AP1 and AP3 forms vesicles for transport from the trans-Golgi network to the later endosomal compartments, and also for transport that emanates from the early endosomal compartments. Clathrin that is associated with AP2 forms vesicles from the plasma membrane that transport to the early endosomes.
The evolving understanding of COPI vesicle formation. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 10, All rights reserved. Figure Detail Lysosomes break down macromolecules into their constituent parts, which are then recycled.
These membrane-bound organelles contain a variety of enzymes called hydrolases that can digest proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and complex sugars. The lumen of a lysosome is more acidic than the cytoplasm.
This environment activates the hydrolases and confines their destructive work to the lysosome. In plants and fungi, lysosomes are called acidic vacuoles. Lysosomes are formed by the fusion of vesicles that have budded off from the trans-Golgi.
Early experiments showed that brief treatment of tissue culture cells with the translation inhibitor puromycin, which dissociates mRNA:ribosome complexes, leads to loss of ribosomes from the ER and a loss of ER sheets [ 51 , 80 ]. Depletion of XendoU leads to the formation of long, unbranched tubules in Xenopus leavis egg extract, and rescue of this phenotype requires intact catalytic activity of the protein, indicating that the nuclease function is critical to proper ER network formation [ 82 ].
Furthermore, antibody addition to purified vesicles leads to a block in network formation, demonstrating that XendoU acts on the surface of ER membranes to regulate ER structure [ 82 ]. Depletion of XendoU also leads to a delay in replication and nuclear envelope closure [ 82 ], and BAPTA blocks nuclear envelope formation in Xenopus egg extract reconstitution experiments [ 85 ].
Upon vesicle fusion it was found that RNAs were degraded and released from the surface of membranes, suggesting that XendoU acts to degrade these RNAs, as well as release proteins, to clear patches of membrane to allow for vesicle formation leading to network formation [ 82 ].
Interestingly, when purified vesicles were treated with increasing concentrations of RNaseA and subjected to the same assay, an increasingly aberrant network formed with large vesicles that were unable to fuse [ 82 ].
Results from in vitro studies indicate that XendoU is activated on membranes in coordination with calcium release to locally degrade RNAs and clear patches of membranes leading to fusion in a controlled manner to fine tune network formation. Lastly, similar to other proteins that play a role in tubule formation, knock-down of the human homolog EndoU in cultured human cells leads to an expansion of sheets [ 82 ].
Additionally, rescue of the expanded sheet phenotype depended on intact catalytic function as observed with recombinant protein in the extract system. Therefore, XendoU is an example of a protein that is activated in response to cellular cues to regulate proper ER formation, and further studies may reveal additional proteins that are regulated in this manner to fine tune organelle structure.
We have considered how tubules are formed and maintained, which leads the discussion to sheets, the other peripheral ER structure. First, we must consider how sheets are formed. Several mechanisms have been proposed, including the idea that integral membrane proteins can span the intraluminal space and form bridges, connecting the lipid bilayers [ 51 , 86 , 87 ].
These proteins may either stabilize the structure or define the distance between the two lipid layers based on the size of the proteins. Additionally, these proteins or protein complexes may form a scaffold that aids in the stabilization of the sheets or bring the two lipid membranes in closer proximity [ 86 ].
Several proteins including Climp63, p and kinectin have been implicated in the generation, maintenance and stabilization of ER sheets [ 51 ]. In addition to highly enriched membrane proteins and core components of the translocon, Climp63, a coiled—coiled protein with a single transmembrane domain, was identified along with kinectin and p in a mass spectrometry screen for abundant integral ER membrane proteins [ 51 ].
Through various techniques and in various cell types Climp63 was shown to be a highly abundant protein [ 88 — 90 ] that localizes to perinuclear ER and is absent from the nuclear envelope [ 91 , 92 ]. Very stable oligomers of Climp63 can form, restricting mobility of the protein along the membrane, promoting localization to the rough ER [ 92 ].
Overexpression of Climp63 leads to a massive proliferation of ER sheets while reduction in expression surprisingly does not lead to loss of sheets but instead a decrease in the distance between sheets [ 51 ].
Moreover, these sheets are spread diffusely throughout the cytoplasm, reminiscent of the phenotype of cells treated with the translation inhibitor puromycin [ 51 ]. This is interesting as the core components of the translocon, the protein channel that interacts with ribosomes and is responsible for translocating nascent peptides into the ER or anchoring transmembrane segments of newly synthesized proteins, were found to be enriched on sheets [ 93 ].
Therefore, these results suggest that the role of Climp63 in formation of sheets is likely to involve additional factors and acts as a part of an elaborate regulatory network that balances the production of sheets and tubules. It is clear that proteins involved in the promotion, maintenance or stabilization of peripheral ER structures function through interactions with additional proteins or structures, and these interactions are key to proper formation of the ER network.
Interestingly, several of the proteins discussed above have been shown to interact with microtubules, including Climp63 [ 91 ], p [ 94 ], kinectin [ 95 ] and STIM1 discussed below. One important interaction discussed below is with microtubules.
The ER network exhibits several dynamic interactions with microtubules that are important for determining the distribution of the ER within the cell. The two main types of interactions between the ER and microtubules are Tip Attachment Complexes TACs and sliding along preformed microtubules by the action of kinesin and dynein motors [ 96 — ]. In cultured cells treated with nocodazole to depolymerize microtubules, the ER retracts from the periphery [ ], though the retraction does not occur immediately.
Further investigation revealed that sliding events occurred mainly on a small subset of microtubules, modified by acetylation, that are more resistant to nocodazole treatment [ 76 ]. Furthermore, ER tubules can form in the absence of microtubules [ 57 , 65 , 68 ], raising many questions and leading several groups to study the interaction between ER and microtubules more in-depth. In the past 10 years we have learned a great deal about what proteins are responsible for the intrinsic shape of the ER and how these proteins are connected to specific ER subdomains.
However, we know very little about how cellular signals communicate with ER shaping proteins to change the shape of the ER in response to cellular signals. During mitosis many cellular structures are dramatically remodeled to facilitate chromosome segregation.
One of the most dramatic examples is changes to the microtubule cytoskeleton that occur as a result of increased microtubule dynamics caused by the action of cyclin-dependent kinases. The increase in microtubule dynamics during mitosis is important for the bipolar attachment of chromosomes to the mitotic spindle and accurate segregation to daughter cells during anaphase [ ].
In addition to changes to the microtubule cytoskeleton, essentially all organelles change shape and function during mitosis to facilitate accurate organelle inheritance and orderly chromosome segregation. The ER undergoes dramatic shape changes during mitosis and recent studies are beginning to uncover the mechanisms linked to these structural changes. In organisms with an open mitosis the nuclear envelope breaks down at the onset of mitosis to allow free exchange between the nucleus and cytoplasm.
Nuclear envelope breakdown NEBD is a carefully orchestrated process that begins during mitotic prophase [ ]. During prophase components of the nuclear pore dissociate from the pore, the nuclear lamina depolymerizes, and the membrane-bound proteins of the nuclear envelope retract into the general ER.
These events free the chromosomes of nuclear lamina and membranes to facilitate chromosome condensation and segregation. In general, the events of nuclear envelope breakdown are thought to be driven by the phosphorylation of components of the NE during mitosis by various mitotic kinases, especially cyclinB:cdk1, although many molecular details are still unclear.
Concomitant with changes that occur to the nuclear envelope during NEBD the ER also begins to undergo dramatic shape changes. Changes in ER shape during mitosis have been studied in many different organisms by both light and electron microscope and these studies have resulted in a conflicting series of reports about the shape of the ER during mitosis. However, during the last few years a consensus has begun to emerge that the mitotic ER is primarily composed of sheets.
Early studies using live cell microscopy in both Drosophila and C. Additionally, work using thin section transmission EM in HeLa cells also concluded that the majority of the ER was present in sheets throughout mitosis [ ]. However, two studies in a variety of mammalian tissue culture cells [ 80 , ] have used both live cell microscopy and electron microscopy to suggest that the ER is primarily tubular during mitosis, and two additional studies [ 60 , ] also suggested that the ER remained tubular during mitosis and further suggested that end-on binding of ER tubules to chromatin during mitosis initiates nuclear envelope reassembly at the end of mitosis.
One potential difficulty in interpreting the shape of the mitotic ER is that most cells round up during mitosis which can make acquisition of light and electron microscopy images difficult and require laborious reconstruction of the images into a three dimensional model. In addition, the mitotic ER is highly dynamic, which can complicate acquisition of live cell images during mitosis. To address these questions a series of recent studies have used both high-resolution, high-speed live cell microscopy and high-resolution EM to demonstrate that the ER is almost exclusively composed of sheets during mitosis [ , ].
In addition, these studies demonstrate that the nuclear envelope reforms through the docking of ER sheets onto regions of chromatin that are isolated from spindle microtubules [ ]. Finally, to circumvent many or the problems associated with imaging large, three dimensional cells during mitosis a recent study has examined the structure of the ER in vitro using ER reconstituted from Xenopus egg extracts [ 65 ].
This study convincingly demonstrated that ER formed in mitotic extracts is primarily composed of sheets while interphase ER is primarily composed of tubules. In addition, the authors demonstrated that active cyclinB:cdk1 was sufficient to convert a tubular ER into a primarily sheet based ER. Taken together all of these studies present conflicting views of the shape of the ER during mitosis, but a consensus is emerging from a wide variety of organisms that the mitotic ER is primarily composed of sheets and that the shape changes in the ER are related to changes in cyclin:cdk activity.
In addition to changes in the gross morphology of the ER during mitosis there are also dramatic changes in the distribution of proteins throughout the ER.
During interphase the ER is organized into distinct domains with certain proteins defining different domains. For example, the tubule-shaping reticulon protein Rtn4 is exclusively present in the peripheral ER and excluded from the nuclear envelope [ 57 , 60 , ].
However, during mitosis the NE retracts into the ER and there is nearly complete mixing of the specialized ER-shaping proteins [ 60 , ]. At the end of mitosis proteins that define the NE and peripheral ER are rapidly resorted such that they reestablish their characteristic interphase organization [ 60 , ]. In addition, it has been shown that overexpression of Rtn4 or knockdown of three reticulons Rtn1, Rtn3, Rtn4 can either slow or speed the rate of NE reassembly at the end of mitosis, although the mechanism through which these proteins affect NE formation is currently unknown.
These studies highlight the massive reorganization that takes place in the ER during mitosis and suggests that different expression levels of specific ER shaping proteins can control ER reorganization during mitosis. However, we know very little about how various ER shaping proteins are resorted to specific domains at the end of mitosis. Two very recent studies [ , ] have begun to provide insight into the specialized processes that regulate nuclear envelope reformation at the end of mitosis.
Both of these studies identified a transient localization of the ESCRT-III complex to the surface of chromatin during late anaphase when the nuclear envelope is beginning to reform.
ESCRT-III is best known for its role in the formation of multivesicular bodies during endocytosis, but also has well-documented roles in cytokinesis and viral budding from the plasma membrane [ ].
Additionally, interactions with the microtubule severing enzyme spastin and the ubiquitin recognition factor UFD1 are important for nuclear envelope reformation. The redistribution of ER shaping proteins during mitosis suggests that the fundamental activities of some of these proteins are modified during mitosis. For example, the mitotic ER is composed of primarily sheets, yet Rtn4, which promotes tubule formation [ 57 ], is distributed throughout the ER [ 60 , ]. This result suggests that the tubule-promoting activity of Rtn4 may be modified during mitosis to facilitate the tubule-to-sheet transition observed during mitosis.
Inspection of large-scale phospho-proteomics studies reveals that a large number of ER-shaping proteins have identified mitosis-specific phosphorylation sites [ — ]. Although none of the phosphorylation sites identified in these large-scale screens has been studied in detail their presence and specificity to mitosis suggests that these are likely to be involved in reshaping the ER during mitosis.
In support of the hypothesis that mitosis-specific phosphorylation of ER-shaping proteins regulates ER remodeling during mitosis two studies have examined this phenomenon in detail.
A study of the ER sheet promoting protein Climp63 [ 51 ] has demonstrated mitosis-specific phosphorylation on three N-terminal residues [ ]. Phosphorylation of Climp63 blocks the interaction of Climp63 with microtubules. Additionally, phosphomimetic mutants blocked the interaction of the ER with microtubules during interphase and resulted in an ER composed primarily of sheets, while nonphosphorylatable mutants tethered the ER to microtubules and resulted in an extremely distorted ER.
These results suggest that mitotic phosphorylation of Climp63 likely blocks the interaction of the ER with microtubules and could be an important step in the tubule-to-sheet transition that occurs during mitosis. A second study examined the interaction of the ER with growing microtubule plus ends during mitosis.
However, during mitosis the ER is excluded from the mitotic spindle and does not exhibit plus tip growth events. A recent study [ ] has demonstrated that STIM1 is specifically phosphorylated during mitosis to control the interaction of the ER with microtubules.
Clearly much more work remains before we have a clear understanding of how cell cycle signaling cascades contribute to reshaping of the mitotic ER. While the above studies demonstrated that phosphorylation of key proteins that link the ER to the microtubule cytoskeleton is important for excluding the ER from the spindle during mitosis a recent study demonstrated the importance of an interaction of the ER with microtubules for clearing the ER from mitotic chromatin.
During mitosis the nuclear envelope is absorbed into the ER and is cleared from the surface of the chromatin, however little is known about the mechanisms that regulate ER removal from the chromatin. Taken together these three studies demonstrate that interaction of the ER with microtubules is a major mechanism that contributes to shape rearrangement during mitosis and that ER:microtubule interactions are regulated by mitotic phosphorylation.
In addition, these studies demonstrate that the ER interacts with microtubules using many different adaptor proteins and that these different adaptor proteins serve different functions during mitosis. One of the greatest changes during development occurs at fertilization.
As in mitosis, the transition from oocyte to embryo requires many coordinated cellular changes including release from meiotic arrest, resumption of mitosis, fusion of pronuclei, activation of signaling cascades and changes in protein expression [ — ].
In order for development to proceed normally, the egg must undergo the proper calcium response in order to initiate the developmental program and embryogenesis [ ]. While the exact mechanism and conformational changes vary slightly among all organisms studied, the ER architecture in oocytes of all animals changes including Xenopus [ , ], sea urchin [ ], starfish [ ] and mouse [ ].
Initial studies in starfish oocytes revealed that the ER is comprised of interconnected sheets of membranes, though following germinal vesicle breakdown GVBD , the ER sheets wrap around yolk platelets resembling a shell [ ].
In immature mouse oocytes, large clusters were found deep within the cytoplasm [ ]. Following GVBD, the spindle and surrounding ER migrate to the cortex leading to another round of ER reorganization into vegetally localized clusters in the metaphase II egg in addition to a finer reticular network throughout the egg [ , ].
Interestingly, these steps are dependent on the microtubule network as nocodazole and inhibition of cytoplasmic dynein both prevent the ER reorganization [ ]. Formation of the ER clusters is prevented by the depolymerization of microfilaments, but not microtubules [ ]. Given the timing of each of these reorganizations, it seems likely that they are related to increases in cyclinB:cdk1 activity that occurs upon oocyte maturation [ ].
These observations show an additional time in development where the ER and microtubule network interact to regulate ER structure. In Xenopus immature oocytes, the network in both the animal pigmented half and vegetal unpigemented half appears to be uniform and consists of tubules and individual, unstacked sheets [ ].
Additionally, the vegetal half contains annulate lamellae, stacks of sheets with membranes containing densely packed nuclear pores [ ]. In mature eggs, the ER in the animal half is unchanged, however the annulate lamellae in the vegetal half disappeared. Interestingly, it has been proposed that the annulate lamellae share many properties with the nuclear envelope [ ].
In place of the annulate lamellae dense, irregularly shaped ER clusters were present. The appearance of these clusters coincided with germinal vesicle breakdown. These clusters disappeared and reappeared throughout maturation and upon fertilization dispersed and permanently disappeared. The reorganization of the ER is coupled to the cell cycle as the clusters present in mature eggs contain IP 3 receptors [ ] and release calcium from IP 3 channels at fertilization [ , ]. Along with these changes comes a transient intracellular calcium wave, initiated during sperm entry, released from the ER and extracellular stores [ 40 , 42 , — ].
There is one major difference in eggs of mice versus eggs of frogs. Frogs, as well as sea urchin [ ] and starfish [ , ] have a single calcium transient at fertilization [ ]. Other animals, including mice and humans, have multiple smaller calcium transients following fertilization, and these differences may be reflected in the ER organization in mature eggs [ ]. Mice [ ] and frogs display ER clusters that are similar in size and location the side opposite the meiotic spindle and possess IP 3 receptors [ , ].
However, fertilization in mice occurs on the side with the ER clusters whereas fertilization in frogs occurs in the animal pole where the meiotic spindle is located. Therefore, the clusters may be involved in secondary calcium wave propagation. The organization of the ER network, and the reorganization throughout oogenesis, serves as a functional consequence of calcium signaling and propagation in these organisms [ ].
We currently do not know much about the molecular mechanisms that lead to changes in ER shape during meiotic maturation and fertilization, and this should be a major are of research interest. As seen so far, the ER is an organelle of many different functions that must be tightly regulated to carry out the proper functions. One of the most prominent functions of the ER is protein synthesis. Even with several chaperones and folding enzymes in place, an accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the lumen of the ER can occur.
When the cell undergoes this type of stress there are several things that must occur to retain balance and proper function, including translational inhibition, degradation of unfolded or misfolded proteins, and an increase in the production of chaperones and folding enzymes to restore normal function of the ER and the cell.
If the balance is not restored it can lead to cell death or apoptosis [ ], therefore achieving normal function is critical to the survival of the cell.
As discussed above, once a peptide destined for secretion has entered the lumen of the cell, there are several modifications that occur, including N-linked glycosylation, disulfide bond formation and oligomerization [ 3 ]. N-linked glycosylation can occur co-translationally as the protein is translocated into the ER lumen. Misfolding can occur due to the unique environment of the lumen and the high protein concentration of both newly synthesized proteins, proteins ready for secretion and proteins that act as molecular chaperones and folding enzymes.
Logistically, due to the high protein concentration and packing in the lumen, the folding enzymes must first identify and find the proper target protein for folding to take place. If proteins are not modified correctly, the lack of glucose residues is recognized by the ER and proteins including UDP-glucose:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase UGGT in an attempt to re-glycosylate the protein [ — ]. If the normal folding process is not restored, hydrophobic residues are exposed and bound by Grp78, accumulation of these proteins occurs and the unfolded protein response UPR is activated [ , ].
This statement certainly applies to the endoplasmic reticulum an organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Many of these products are made for and exported to other organelles. This is an electron microscope image showing part of the rough endoplasmic reticulum in a plant root cell from maize. The dark spots are ribosomes. There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum: rough endoplasmic reticulum rough ER and smooth endoplasmic reticulum smooth ER. Both types are present in plant and animal cells.
The two types of ER often appear as if separate, but they are sub-compartments of the same organelle. Cells specialising in the production of proteins will tend to have a larger amount of rough ER whilst cells producing lipids fats and steroid hormones will have a greater amount of smooth ER.
Part of the ER is contiguous with the nuclear envelope. The Golgi apparatus is also closely associated with the ER and recent observations suggest that parts of the two organelles, i. This is an extensive organelle composed of greatly convoluted but flattish sealed sacs, which are contiguous with the nuclear membrane.
These are called membrane bound ribosomes and are firmly attached to the outer cytosolic side of the ER About 13 million ribosomes are present on the RER in the average liver cell.
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