Membrane contact site

Membrane contact sites are areas within a cell where the membranes of two organelles are arranged in close proximity (not to be confused with cell junctions between the cells). These sites are thought to be important in the transport of small molecules such as lipids between organelles, and offer an alternative to the classical mechanism of lipid transport through vesicles.^[1][2] Membrane contact sites may be particularly important in the function of the endoplasmic reticulum, since this is the major site of lipid synthesis within cells.^[3] These structures can form between the ER and many organelles, including mitochondria, peroxisomes, Golgi, peroxisomes, lysosomes and the plasma membrane. They can also form between other organelles, such as between the cell nucleus and the vacuole in yeast.^[4].

See also

• Secretory pathway
• Lipid metabolism
• Lipid bilayer fusion

References

1. ^ Levine T (September 2004). "Short-range intracellular trafficking of small molecules across endoplasmic reticulum junctions". Trends Cell Biol. 14 (9): 483–90. doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2004.07.017. PMID 15350976. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0962-8924(04)00196-5. 
2. ^ Levine T, Loewen C (August 2006). "Inter-organelle membrane contact sites: through a glass, darkly". Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 18 (4): 371–8. doi:10.1016/j.ceb.2006.06.011. PMID 16806880. 
3. ^ Voeltz GK, Rolls MM, Rapoport TA (October 2002). "Structural organization of the endoplasmic reticulum". EMBO Rep. 3 (10): 944–50. doi:10.1093/embo-reports/kvf202. PMC 1307613. PMID 12370207. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1307613. 
4. ^ Kvam E, Goldfarb DS (June 2006). "Nucleus-vacuole junctions in yeast: anatomy of a membrane contact site". Biochem. Soc. Trans. 34 (Pt 3): 340–2. doi:10.1042/BST0340340. PMID 16709156. http://www.biochemsoctrans.org/bst/034/0340/bst0340340.htm.