| Popis: |
Hepatocytes, the major epithelial cells in the liver, are highly polarized. The intracellular sorting and polarized trafficking of apical/canalicular and basolateral/sinusoidal proteins are essential to the maintenance and generation of membrane polarity in hepatocytes. Through biogenesis, a plasma membrane protein is first synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum, modified in Golgi, and finally sorted in the trans-Golgi network (TGN). From the TGN, they are further sorted to either the canalicular or sinusoidal membrane domains. Recently, major sorting signals and intracellular sorting compartments have been uncovered. In particular, recycling endosome has come out as a central player of hepatocytes and epithelial cells in the apical and basolateral polarized sorting. Loss of hepatic polarity leads to a number of pathogenic conditions such as bile secretory failure (cholestasis), carbohydrate and lipid metabolism disorder, and other liver diseases. Thus, a better understanding of the maintenance and generation of membrane polarity is required for the prevention and treatment of major liver diseases. |
