Membrane contact sites (MCS) are close appositions between two organelles. Ultrastructural studies typically reveal an intermembrane distance in the order of the size of a single protein, as small as 10 nm or wider, with no clear upper limit. These zones of apposition are highly conserved in evolution.[1] These sites are thought to be important to facilitate signalling, and they promote the passage of small molecules, including ions, lipids[2] and (discovered later) reactive oxygen species.[3][4] MCS are important in the function of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER),[5] since this is the major site of lipid synthesis within cells.[6] The ER makes close contact with many organelles, including mitochondria, Golgi, endosomes, lysosomes, peroxisomes, chloroplasts and the plasma membrane.[7] Both mitochondria and sorting endosomes undergo major rearrangements leading to fission where they contact the ER.[5] Sites of close apposition can also form between most of these organelles most pairwise combinations.[8] First mentions of these contact sites can be found in papers published in the late 1950s mainly visualized using electron microscopy (EM) techniques. Copeland and Dalton described them as “highly specialized tubular form of endoplasmic reticulum in association with the mitochondria and apparently in turn, with the vascular border of the cell”.[9]
^Levine T (September 2004). "Short-range intracellular trafficking of small molecules across endoplasmic reticulum junctions". Trends in Cell Biology. 14 (9): 483–90. doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2004.07.017. PMID 15350976.
^Prinz, William A.; Choudhary, Vineet; Liu, Li-Ka; Lahiri, Sujoy; Kannan, Muthukumar (2017-03-01). "Phosphatidylserine synthesis at membrane contact sites promotes its transport out of the ER". Journal of Lipid Research. 58 (3): 553–562. doi:10.1194/jlr.M072959. ISSN 0022-2275. PMC 5335585. PMID 28119445.
^Elbaz Y, Schuldiner M (November 2011). "Staying in touch: the molecular era of organelle contact sites". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 36 (11): 616–23. doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2011.08.004. PMID 21958688.
^Csordás G, Weaver D, Hajnóczky G (July 2018). "Endoplasmic Reticulum-Mitochondrial Contactology: Structure and Signaling Functions". Trends in Cell Biology. 28 (7): 523–540. doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2018.02.009. PMC 6005738. PMID 29588129.
^ abPhillips MJ, Voeltz GK (February 2016). "Structure and function of ER membrane contact sites with other organelles". Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology. 17 (2): 69–82. doi:10.1038/nrm.2015.8. PMC 5117888. PMID 26627931.
^Voeltz GK, Rolls MM, Rapoport TA (October 2002). "Structural organization of the endoplasmic reticulum". EMBO Reports. 3 (10): 944–50. doi:10.1093/embo-reports/kvf202. PMC 1307613. PMID 12370207.
^Helle SC, Kanfer G, Kolar K, Lang A, Michel AH, Kornmann B (November 2013). "Organization and function of membrane contact sites". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research. 1833 (11): 2526–41. doi:10.1016/j.bbamcr.2013.01.028. PMID 23380708.
^Bohnert M, Schuldiner M (May 2018). "Stepping outside the comfort zone of membrane contact site research". Nature Reviews. Molecular Cell Biology. 19 (8): 483–484. doi:10.1038/s41580-018-0022-1. PMC 6287737. PMID 29765158.
^Copeland DE, Dalton AJ (May 1959). "An association between mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum in cells of the pseudobranch gland of a teleost". The Journal of Biophysical and Biochemical Cytology. 5 (3): 393–6. doi:10.1083/jcb.5.3.393. PMC 2224680. PMID 13664679.
and 25 Related for: Membrane contact site information
Membranecontactsites (MCS) are close appositions between two organelles. Ultrastructural studies typically reveal an intermembrane distance in the order...
out of the endoplasmic reticulum involves areas called membranecontactsites, where the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and other organelles are...
called membranecontactsites where the ER becomes closely and stably associated with the membranes of other organelles, such as the plasma membrane, Golgi...
Golgi network or plasma membrane) at the same time, which can only be achieved by their targeting to membranecontactsites. This discovery has turned...
Modulation and coding scheme, in the telecommunications industry Membranecontactsite, within cells Minimally conscious state, a disorder of consciousness...
representatives of the yeast lipid transfer proteins anchored at a membranecontactsite (LAM) family. The protein is expressed ubiquitously with higher...
cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that...
needed] These membranecontactsites have been associated with the delicate balance between life and death of the cell. Isolation membranes are the initial...
Kannan, Muthukumar (2017-03-01). "Phosphatidylserine synthesis at membranecontactsites promotes its transport out of the ER". Journal of Lipid Research...
questions, such as mapping neural connectivity in the brain, and membranecontactsites between organelles. Electron microscopes are expensive to build...
gene. It is an endoplasmic reticulum–resident protein involved in membranecontactsite formation. Its domain homologous to Major Sperm Protein (MSP domain)...
is a late endosomal integral membrane protein involved in cholesterol transport. STARD3 creates membranecontactsites between the endoplasmic reticulum...
A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment...
Contact dermatitis is a type of acute or chronic inflammation of the skin caused by exposure to chemical or physical agents. Symptoms of contact dermatitis...
between ER and Golgi membranes; and created a new tool to visualize contactsites and used it to systematically screen all contactsites for their resident...
reticulum. Her lab has produced paradigm shifting studies on organelle membranecontactsites that have revealed that most cytoplasmic organelles are not isolated...
chorion, which then comprise the fetal membranes. The amnion is the innermost layer and, therefore, contacts the amniotic fluid, the fetus and the umbilical...
Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of...
(ER) and plasma membrane (PM) membranecontactsites (MCS) and aids the transfer of phosphatidylinositol between these two membranes, potentially by recruiting...
involving contact with rapidly moving early endosomes. Physical contact between organelles is often mediated by membranecontactsites, where membranes of two...
calcium channel (SOCE) into cells. SARAF is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane resident protein that associates with STIM1, to facilitate the inactivation...
membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes are flat sheets that form a continuous barrier around all cells. The cell membranes of...
The vitelline membrane or vitelline envelope is a structure surrounding the outer surface of the plasma membrane of an ovum (the oolemma) or, in some animals...
plasma membrane contains high levels of cholesterol, GRAMD1c as well as GRAMD1a and GRAMD1b move to sites of contact between the plasma membrane and the...
Global Information