A secretory protein is any protein, whether it be

endocrine The endocrine system is a messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the neur ...

or exocrine, which is secreted by a cell. Secretory proteins include many

hormones A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

enzymes Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. ...

toxins A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849� ...

, and

antimicrobial peptides Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), also called host defence peptides (HDPs) are part of the innate immune response found among all classes of life. Fundamental differences exist between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells that may represent targets for ...

. Secretory proteins are synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Production

The production of a secretory protein starts like any other protein. The

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...

is produced and transported to the

cytosol The cytosol, also known as cytoplasmic matrix or groundplasm, is one of the liquids found inside cells ( intracellular fluid (ICF)). It is separated into compartments by membranes. For example, the mitochondrial matrix separates the mitochondri ...

where it interacts with a free cytosolic

ribosome Ribosomes ( ) are macromolecular machines, found within all cells, that perform biological protein synthesis (mRNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order specified by the codons of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules to fo ...

. The part that is produced first, the N-terminal, contains a signal sequence consisting of 6 to 12

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...

s with hydrophobic side chains. This sequence is recognised by a cytosolic protein, SRP (Signal Recognition Particle), which stops the

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

and aids in the transport of the mRNA-ribosome complex to an SRP receptor found in the

membrane A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. ...

of the

endoplasmic reticulum The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. It is a type of organelle made up of two subunits – rough endoplasmic reticulum ...

. When it arrives at the ER, the signal sequence is transferred to the translocon, a protein-conducting channel in the membrane that allows the newly synthesized polypeptide to be translocated to the ER lumen. The dissociation of SRP from the ribosome restores the translation of the secretory protein. The signal sequence is removed and the translation continues while the produced chain moves through the translocon (cotranslational translocation).

Modification

After the production of the protein is completed, it interacts with several other proteins to gain its final state.

Endoplasmic reticulum

After translation, proteins within the ER make sure that the protein is folded correctly. If after a first attempt the folding is unsuccessful, a second folding is attempted. If this fails too the protein is exported to the cytosol and labelled for destruction. Aside from the folding, there is also a sugar chain added to the protein. After these changes, the protein is transported to the Golgi apparatus by a coated

vesicle Vesicle may refer to: ; In cellular biology or chemistry * Vesicle (biology and chemistry) In cell biology, a vesicle is a structure within or outside a cell, consisting of liquid or cytoplasm enclosed by a lipid bilayer. Vesicles form nat ...

using coating protein COPII.

Golgi apparatus

In the

Golgi apparatus The Golgi apparatus (), also known as the Golgi complex, Golgi body, or simply the Golgi, is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. Part of the endomembrane system in the cytoplasm, it packages proteins into membrane-bound vesicles i ...

, the sugar chains are modified by adding or removing certain sugars. The secretory protein leaves the Golgi apparatus by an uncoated vesicle.

Secretion

Membrane proteins with functional areas on the cytosolic side of both the vesicle and cell membrane make sure the vesicle associates with the membrane. The vesicle membrane fuses with the cell membrane and so the protein leaves the cell. Some vesicles don't fuse immediately and await a signal before starting the fusing. This is seen in vesicles carrying

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, any main body part or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neu ...

in presynaptic cells. This process constitutes an effective cell-cell signaling mechanism via

membrane vesicle trafficking Membrane vesicle trafficking in eukaryotic animal cells involves movement of biochemical signal molecules from synthesis-and-packaging locations in the Golgi body to specific release locations on the inside of the plasma membrane of the secretory ...

from secretory cell to the target cells in human or animal body. Recently, the process has been extended to host-pathogen interface, wherein, gram negative microbes secrete

bacterial outer membrane vesicles Bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are vesicles of lipids released from the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. These vesicles were the first bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) to be discovered, while Gram-positive bacteria release ...

containing fully conformed signal proteins and virulence factors via

exocytosis Exocytosis () is a form of active transport and bulk transport in which a cell transports molecules (e.g., neurotransmitters and proteins) out of the cell ('' exo-'' + ''cytosis''). As an active transport mechanism, exocytosis requires the use ...

of nano-sized vesicles, in order to control host or target cell activities and exploit their environment.

Sequence data and related databases

* Effective, database (2010) *

UniProt UniProt is a freely accessible database of protein sequence and functional information, many entries being derived from genome sequencing projects. It contains a large amount of information about the biological function of proteins derived from ...

contains manually curated secretory proteins. There are also computationally predicted secretory protein databases, these databases are listed in the

Secretome The secretome is the set of proteins expressed by an organism and secreted into the extracellular space. In humans, this subset of the proteome encompasses 13-20% of all proteins, including cytokines, growth factors, extracellular matrix proteins a ...

section.

References

{{Reflist

External links

3D structures of secreted peptides and proteins that interact with lipid bilayer
Cell biology Proteins Secretion