title: The vacuolar-type H⁺-ATPase at a glance - more than a proton pump.
abstract: The vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase) has long been appreciated to function as an electrogenic H(+) pump. By altering the pH of intracellular compartments, the V-ATPase dictates enzyme activity, governs the dissociation of ligands from receptors and promotes the coupled transport of substrates across membranes, a role often aided by the generation of a transmembrane electrical potential. In tissues where the V-ATPase is expressed at the plasma membrane, it can serve to acidify the extracellular microenvironment. More recently, however, the V-ATPase has been implicated in a bewildering variety of additional roles that seem independent of its ability to translocate H(+). These non-canonical functions, which include fusogenicity, cytoskeletal tethering and metabolic sensing, are described in this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, together with a brief overview of the conventional functions of the V-ATPase.
authors.affiliation: Program in Cell Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.
authors.forename: Michelle E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Maxson
authors.affiliation: Program in Cell Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, 290 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5C 1N8, Canada Sergio.grinstein@sickkids.ca.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grinstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology*; D004705:Endocytosis; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D021381:Protein Transport; D059748:Proteolysis; D015398:Signal Transduction; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000201:enzymology*; D025262:Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D025262:Vacuolar Proton-Translocating ATPases
keywords: Acidification; Proton motive; Proton pump; Vacuolar ATPase; pH regulation