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Updated: Sep 20, 2026

Method to Visualize and Analyze Membrane Interacting Proteins by Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: March 5, 2017
Long coiled-coil proteins and membrane traffic
Alison K Gillingham1, Sean Munro
1MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QH, UK. sean@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
Abstract:
Protein transport between organelles is mediated by vesicles which must accurately dock and fuse with appropriate compartments. Over the past several years a large number of long coiled-coil proteins have been identified on the Golgi and on endosomes, mostly as auto-antigens in autoimmune disorders. Based on their restricted intracellular distributions and their predicted rod-like structure, these proteins have been proposed to play a role in tethering vesicles to target organelles prior to fusion. However, such proteins may also play a structural role, for example as components of a Golgi matrix, or as scaffolds for the assembly of other factors important for fusion. This review will examine what is known about the function of these large coiled-coil proteins in membrane traffic.
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