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Exocytosis

Exocytosis

Exocytosis is a process that releases molecules outside the cell. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.
Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis, which brings molecules inside the cell. Sometimes, the released materials are signaling molecules. For example, neurons typically use exocytosis to release neurotransmitters. Cells also use exocytosis to insert proteins such as ion channels into their cell membranes, secrete proteins for use in the extracellular matrix, or...

Exocytosis

Exocytosis

Exocytosis is used to release material from cells. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.

Overview of Exosomes

Overview of Exosomes

Exosomes are stable, lipid bilayer-enclosed vesicles capable of crossing biological barriers. They can carry a wide range of molecules required for intercellular communication. Once exosomes are released from the cell where they originated, they enter a recipient cell through various pathways such as fusion, receptor-mediated endocytosis, macropinocytosis, and phagocytosis.
Stahl et al. discovered exosomes in 1983, but the exosomes were initially considered waste products released from the...

Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...

Nuclear Export

Nuclear Export

The nucleus restricts several proteins within and allows others to pass. The restricted proteins possess a nuclear retention sequence or NRS, anchoring them to the nuclear lamins and preventing their transport to the cytosol. The non-restricted proteins, after their synthesis, are transported to their site of action, such as the cytosol or other organelles, with the help of nuclear export signals or NES.
NES are of three types- the canonical 10-residue long leucine-rich signal and other...

Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting

Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting

Nuclear protein sorting regulates nucleus composition and gene expression, crucial for determining the fate of a eukaryotic cell. Hence, the entry and exit of molecules across the nuclear envelope is a tightly controlled process. Nuclear protein sorting can be inhibited by one of the following ways: 1) masking cargo signal sequences, 2) modifying the nuclear receptor's affinity for cargo, 3) controlling the nuclear pore size, 4) retaining the cargo during its transit to the cytosol or the...

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Related Experiment Video

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Characterization of Adipocyte-Derived Extracellular Vesicle Secretion Using a CD63-GFP Reporter Mouse Model In Vivo and In Vitro

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Cortactin enhances exosome secretion without altering cargo.

Lahiru Gangoda¹, Suresh Mathivanan²

¹Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3086, Australia.

The Journal of Cell Biology

|July 20, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cortactin regulates late endosomal trafficking and is crucial for exosome secretion. This study reveals cortactin as a key positive regulator of exosome biogenesis and release.

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Imaging FITC-dextran as a Reporter for Regulated Exocytosis

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Published on: June 20, 2018

Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Molecular Biology
Biochemistry

Background:

Exosomes are key mediators of intercellular communication.
The precise mechanisms governing exosome biogenesis and secretion remain incompletely understood.
Cortactin's role in endosomal trafficking suggests a potential involvement in exosome release.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the function of cortactin in the biogenesis and secretion of exosomes.
To determine if cortactin influences late endosomal trafficking relevant to exosome release.

Main Methods:

Immunofluorescence microscopy to visualize cortactin localization.
Biochemical assays to assess exosome production and secretion.
Genetic manipulation to alter cortactin levels.

Main Results:

Cortactin localizes to late endosomes involved in exosome formation.
Depletion of cortactin impairs exosome secretion.
Cortactin promotes the docking of late endosomes to the plasma membrane for exosome release.

Conclusions:

Cortactin acts as a positive regulator of exosome secretion.
The findings highlight cortactin's essential role in the late endosomal pathway of exosome biogenesis.