title: The Exocyst at a Glance.
abstract: The exocyst is an octameric protein complex that is implicated in the tethering of secretory vesicles to the plasma membrane prior to SNARE-mediated fusion. Spatial and temporal control of exocytosis through the exocyst has a crucial role in a number of physiological processes, such as morphogenesis, cell cycle progression, primary ciliogenesis, cell migration and tumor invasion. In this Cell Science at a Glance poster article, we summarize recent works on the molecular organization, function and regulation of the exocyst complex, as they provide rationales to the involvement of this complex in such a diverse array of cellular processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA guowei@sas.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008561:Membrane Fusion / Q000235:genetics*; D050576:Membrane Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020726:ral Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C547754:EXOC7 protein, human; D050576:Membrane Fusion Proteins; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D020726:ral Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor; D020691:rab GTP-Binding Proteins
keywords: Exocyst; Membrane fusion; Rab; Ral; Rho; Vesicle tether