Tunnels for Protein Export from the Endoplasmic Reticulum

The functions of coat protein complex II (COPII) coats in cargo packaging and the creation of vesicles at the endoplasmic reticulum are conserved in eukaryotic protein secretion. Standard COPII vesicles, however, cannot handle the secretion of metazoan-specific cargoes such as procollagens, apolipoproteins, and mucins. Metazoans have thus evolved modules centered on proteins like TANGO1 (transport and Golgi organization 1) to engage COPII coats and early secretory pathway membranes to engineer a novel mode of cargo export at the endoplasmic reticulum.

Automated summary

The functions of COPII coat protein complex in eukaryotic protein secretion are conserved, but standard COPII vesicles cannot accommodate the secretion of metazoan-specific cargoes. Metazoans have evolved modules centered on proteins like TANGO1 to create a novel mode of cargo export at the endoplasmic reticulum by interacting with COPII coats and early secretory pathway membranes.