The physiology of membrane transport and endomembrane-based signalling.
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.
Sallese
Michele
M
Laboratory of Membrane Traffic, Department of Cell Biology and Oncology, Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, Santa Maria Imbaro, Chieti, Italy.
Pulvirenti
Teodoro
T
Luini
Alberto
A
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
D011494:Protein Kinases; D020962:Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins