Mécanismes de la régulation du trafic membranaire

Abstract

Over the last few years, several aspects of the mechanisms regulating membrane transport between different sub-cellular organelles have been studied at the molecular level. These studies have revealed different categories of molecules, in particular components of the proteinacous coat of transport vesicles, regulatory elements belonging to the GTP-binding protein super-family, and, finally, molecules presumably implicated in the mechanism of membrane fusion. It is also clear that phosphorylation- dephosphorylation events are somehow involved. These studies have already demonstrated that some common design remains conserved in the mechanisms controlling different steps of transport. However, several important components remain to be identified. Whereas progress has been made in understanding the regulation of transport, for instance via GTP-binding proteins, very little is known about proteins that either mediate close interactions between membranes or that catalyse the fusion step itself. The current challenge is to unravel these complex regulatory mechanisms, and, to dissect the membrane transport machinery.