Endoplasmic reticulum model brings new insight to cell organelle's structure and function

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The peripheral endoplasmic reticulum (ER) forms a continuous, dynamic network of tubules that plays an important role in protein transport and quality control, cellular signaling, and stress response. Investigating how the unique structure of the ER arises and supports its function is critical to developing a mechanistic understanding of the many neurological diseases associated with ER structural perturbations.

A team of researchers, including two from UC San Diego, have developed a physical model demonstrating that the structure and dynamics of the ER arise from a balance of tension-driven shrinking and the active pulling of new tubules. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This "active liquid network" reveals how its cellular-scale structure emerges from small-scale dynamic rearrangements. These results shed light on how the ER is able to maintain a dense, rapidly rearranging network of tubules critical to its role as a delivery hub for proteins, lipids, and ions throughout the cell.

"The ability to maintain large, complex structures in the face of constant turnover is a defining characteristic of living cells. Understanding how this is accomplished is a key step toward unraveling the fundamental principles that govern living matter," says Elena Koslover, Associate Professor of Physics at UC San Diego.

More information: Zubenelgenubi C. Scott et al, The endoplasmic reticulum as an active liquid network, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2409755121

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Provided by University of California - San Diego