Pycnosomes: Condensed Endosomal Structures Secreted by Dictyostelium Amoebae.

ABSTRACT: Dictyostelium discoideum has been used largely as a model organism to study the organization and function of the endocytic pathway. Here we describe dense structures present in D. discoideum endocytic compartments, which we named pycnosomes. Pycnosomes are constitutively secreted in the extracellular medium, from which they can be recovered by differential centrifugation. We identified the most abundant protein present in secreted pycnosomes, that we designated SctA. SctA defines a new family of proteins with four members in D. discoideum, and homologous proteins in other protists and eumetazoa. We developed a monoclonal antibody specific for SctA and used it to further characterize secreted and intracellular pycnosomes. Within cells, immunofluorescence as well as electron microscopy ident

SUBMITTER: Sabra A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4871501 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature