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Updated: Aug 28, 2025

Author Spotlight: Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells
Published on: May 12, 2023
ER as master regulator of membrane trafficking and organelle function
Eva Maria Wenzel1,2, Liv Anker Elfmark1,2, Harald Stenmark1,2
1Centre for Cancer Cell Reprogramming, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract:
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which occupies a large portion of the cytoplasm, is the cell's main site for the biosynthesis of lipids and carbohydrate conjugates, and it is essential for folding, assembly, and biosynthetic transport of secreted proteins and integral membrane proteins. The discovery of abundant membrane contact sites (MCSs) between the ER and other membrane compartments has revealed that, in addition to its biosynthetic and secretory functions, the ER plays key roles in the regulation of organelle dynamics and functions. In this review, we will discuss how the ER regulates endosomes, lysosomes, autophagosomes, mitochondria, peroxisomes, and the Golgi apparatus via MCSs. Such regulation occurs via lipid and Ca2+ transfer and also via control of in trans dephosphorylation reactions and organelle motility, positioning, fusion, and fission. The diverse controls of other organelles via MCSs manifest the ER as master regulator of organelle biology.
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