title: A perspective on transport of proteins into mitochondria: a myriad of open questions.
abstract: Mitochondria are the central hub of key cellular processes such as energy conversion, cell signaling, cell cycle regulation and cell differentiation. Therefore, in particular, mitochondrial biogenesis and protein translocation have been the focus of intense research for now nearly half a century. In spite of remarkable progress the field has made, many of the proposed mechanisms remain controversial and none of the translocation pathways is yet understood at the high-resolution level. In this context, the present article is intended to identify and discuss current major open questions and unresolved issues in the field in hope that it will stimulate and engage the pursuit of current efforts and expose new directions.
authors: Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany. Electronic address: Neupert@biochem.mpg.de.
authors: Walter
authors: W
authors: Neupert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism*; D000090622:Mitochondrial Precursor Protein Import Complex Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism; D021381:Protein Transport; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C492709:MIM1 protein, S cerevisiae; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D000090622:Mitochondrial Precursor Protein Import Complex Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D011498:Protein Precursors; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C487333:Sam50 protein, S cerevisiae; C098669:TOB1 protein, human; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
keywords: membrane protein insertion; mitochondrial protein import and export; protein sorting; protein targeting; protein translocation machinery