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Snf7 This family of proteins are involved in protein sorting and transport from the endosome to the vacuole/lysosome in eukaryotic cells. Vacuoles/lysosomes play an important role in the degradation of both lipids and cellular proteins. In order to perform this degradative function, vacuoles/lysosomes contain numerous hydrolases which have been transported in the form of inactive precursors via the biosynthetic pathway and are proteolytically activated upon delivery to the vacuole/lysosome. The delivery of transmembrane proteins, such as activated cell surface receptors to the lumen of the vacuole/lysosome, either for degradation/downregulation, or in the case of hydrolases, for proper localization, requires the formation of multivesicular bodies (MVBs). These late endosomal structures are formed by invaginating and budding of the limiting membrane into the lumen of the compartment. During this process, a subset of the endosomal membrane proteins is sorted into the forming vesicles. Mature MVBs fuse with the vacuole/lysosome, thereby releasing cargo containing vesicles into its hydrolytic lumen for degradation. Endosomal proteins that are not sorted into the intralumenal MVB vesicles are either recycled back to the plasma membrane or Golgi complex, or remain in the limiting membrane of the MVB and are thereby transported to the limiting membrane of the vacuole/lysosome as a consequence of fusion. Therefore, the MVB sorting pathway plays a critical role in the decision between recycling and degradation of membrane proteins. A few archaeal sequences are also present within this family. |
Jiyao W et al.(2023). "The conserved domain database in 2023.",