Expression of OA1 limits the fusion of a subset of MVBs with lysosomes - a mechanism potentially involved in the initial biogenesis of melanosomes.

ABSTRACT: Multivesicular endosomes/bodies (MVBs) deliver proteins, such as activated EGF receptor (EGFR), to the lysosome for degradation, and, in pigmented cells, MVBs containing PMEL are an initial stage in melanosome biogenesis. The mechanisms regulating numbers and fate of different populations of MVB are unclear. Here, we focus on the role of the G-protein-coupled receptor OA1 (also known as GPR143), which is expressed exclusively in pigmented cells and mutations in which cause the most common type of ocular albinism. When exogenously expressing PMEL, HeLa cells have been shown to form MVBs resembling early stage melanosomes. To focus on the role of OA1 in the initial stages of melanosome biogenesis we take advantage of the absence of the later stages of melanosome maturation in HeLa cells to d

SUBMITTER: Burgoyne T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3828590 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature