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The physiology of membrane transport and endomembrane‐based signalling
Author(s) -
Sallese Michele,
Pulvirenti Teodoro,
Luini Alberto
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601172
Subject(s) - endomembrane system , biology , signalling , microbiology and biotechnology , membrane transport , membrane , biochemistry , endoplasmic reticulum , golgi apparatus
Some of the important open questions concerning the physiology of the secretory pathway relate to its homeostasis. Secretion involves a number of separate compartments for which their transport activities should be precisely cross‐coordinated to avoid gross imbalances in the trafficking system. Moreover, the membrane fluxes across these compartments should be able to adapt to environmental ‘requests’ and to respond to extracellular signals. How is this regulation effected? Here, we consider evidence that endomembrane‐based signalling cascades that are similar in organization to those used at the plasma membrane coordinate membrane traffic. If this is the case, this would also represent a model for a more general inter‐organelle signalling network for functionally interconnecting different intracellular activities, a necessity for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and to express harmonic global cellular responses.