Protein Trafficking Mechanisms in Eukaryotic Cells
Summary
Protein trafficking in eukaryotic cells orchestrates the synthesis, maturation and distribution of thousands of distinct polypeptides to their correct intracellular or extracellular destinations. This multistep process begins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where nascent chains engage chaperones and folding enzymes before selection into COPII-coated vesicles for transport to the Golgi apparatus. Within the Golgi, proteins undergo sequential modification, quality control and sorting by specialised receptors and adaptors. COPI-coated vesicles mediate retrograde retrieval of misfolded or resident ER proteins, maintaining organelle identity. Downstream, sorted cargo is delivered to the plasma membrane, endosomes or lysosomes via additional vesicular carriers and membrane-fusion events driven by SNARE proteins. Endocytic and recycling pathways further regulate surface receptor levels and nutrient uptake. Proteostasis networks—comprising chaperones, ubiquitin–proteasome and autophagy systems—survey trafficking intermediates to prevent accumulation of aberrant species. Dysregulation at any stage can lead to human disorders ranging from congenital glycosylation defects to neurodegeneration. Recent structural and functional studies have elucidated the dynamics of coat assembly, cargo receptor specificity and membrane remodelling, while advances in live-cell imaging and single-cell genomics continue to reveal the spatiotemporal complexity of trafficking routes. Together, these insights underpin efforts to correct trafficking defects in genetic disease, optimise biopharmaceutical production and design targeted delivery strategies for therapeutics.
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Protein Trafficking Mechanisms in Eukaryotic Cells publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in protein trafficking mechanisms in eukaryotic cells across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
COPII: Coat protein complex that drives vesicle budding from the ER to the Golgi.
COPI: Coat protein complex responsible for retrograde vesicle transport from the Golgi back to the ER.
SNARE proteins: Membrane-embedded proteins whose specific pairing mediates vesicle–target membrane fusion.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER): Organelle where secretory and membrane proteins are synthesised, folded and initially sorted.
Golgi apparatus: Organised stacks of cisternae that modify, sort and package cargo for delivery to diverse cellular compartments.
Proteostasis: Network of cellular pathways that maintain protein folding, trafficking and degradation homeostasis.
References
- Mechanisms of Protein Trafficking and Quality Control in the Kidney and Beyond. Annual Review of Physiology (2023).
- Cargo selection in endoplasmic reticulum–to–Golgi transport and relevant diseases. Journal of Clinical Investigation (2023).
- Trafficking of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchored proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface. Journal of Lipid Research (2015).
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