The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) forms membrane contact sites (MCS) with most other cellular organelles and the plasma membrane (PM). These ER–PM MCS, where the membranes of the ER and PM are closely apposed, were discovered in the early days of electron microscopy (EM), but only recently are we starting to understand their functional and structural diversity. ER–PM MCS are nowadays known to mediate excitation–contraction coupling (ECC) in striated muscle cells and to play crucial roles in Ca2+ and lipid homoeostasis in all metazoan cells. A common feature across ER–PM MCS specialized in different functions is the preponderance of cooperative phenomena that result in the formation of large supramolecular assemblies. Therefore, characterizing the supramolecular architecture of ER–PM MCS is critical to understand their mechanisms of function. Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is a powerful EM technique uniquely positioned to address this issue, as it allows 3D imaging of fully hydrated, unstained cellular structures at molecular resolution. In this review I summarize our current structural knowledge on the molecular organization of ER–PM MCS and its functional implications, with special emphasis on the emerging contributions of cryo-ET.
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April 2016
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Cover Image
Endoplasmic reticulumendosome contact sites. This pseudo-colored electron microscopy image shows the formation of inter-organelle membrane contact sites between late endosomes (magenta) and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER; green). This tethering results from the interaction between two ER-anchored proteins (VAP-A and VAP-B) and the late endosomeanchored protein STARD3NL. Mitochondria: brown; nucleus: blue. For further details see pp. 493-498. Image kindly provided by Fabien Alpy. - PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of Contents
Review Article|
April 11 2016
Supramolecular architecture of endoplasmic reticulum–plasma membrane contact sites
Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego
Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego
1
*Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
1email ruben@biochem.mpg.de
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
January 15 2016
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2016 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited
2016
Biochem Soc Trans (2016) 44 (2): 534–540.
Article history
Received:
January 15 2016
Citation
Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego; Supramolecular architecture of endoplasmic reticulum–plasma membrane contact sites. Biochem Soc Trans 15 April 2016; 44 (2): 534–540. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20150279
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