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Sphingolipid trafficking and protein sorting in epithelial cells
Author(s) -
Aït Slimane Tounsia,
Hoekstra Dick
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(02)03183-6
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , sphingolipid , endosome , protein targeting , lipid raft , golgi apparatus , raft , biology , cell polarity , compartment (ship) , signal transduction , chemistry , membrane protein , biochemistry , membrane , cell , intracellular , endoplasmic reticulum , oceanography , organic chemistry , geology , copolymer , polymer
Sphingolipids represent a minor, but highly dynamic subclass of lipids in all eukaryotic cells. They are involved in functions that range from structural protection to signal transduction and protein sorting, and participate in lipid raft assembly. In polarized epithelial cells, which display an asymmetric apical and basolateral membrane surface, rafts have been proposed as a sorting principle for apical resident proteins, following their biosynthesis. However, raft‐mediated trafficking is ubiquitous in cells. Also, sphingolipids per se, which are strongly enriched in the apical domain, are subject to sorting in polarity development. Next to the trans Golgi network, a subapical compartment called SAC or common endosome appears instrumental in regulating these sorting events.