The coat protein complex II, or COPII, is a group of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s that facilitate the formation of vesicles to transport proteins from the

endoplasmic reticulum The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a part of a transportation system of the eukaryote, eukaryotic cell, and has many other important functions such as protein folding. The word endoplasmic means "within the cytoplasm", and reticulum is Latin for ...

to 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 Cell (biology), cells. Part of the endomembrane system in the cytoplasm, it protein targeting, packages proteins ...

or endoplasmic-reticulum–Golgi intermediate compartment. This process is termed

anterograde transport Axonal transport, also called axoplasmic transport or axoplasmic flow, is a cellular process responsible for movement of mitochondria, lipids, synaptic vesicles, proteins, and other organelles to and from a neuron's cell body, through the cytopla ...

, in contrast to the retrograde transport associated with the

COPI COPI is a coatomer, a protein complex that coats vesicle (biology), vesicles transporting proteins from the ''cis'' end of the Golgi complex back to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they were originally Translation (genetics), synthesi ...

complex. COPII is assembled in two parts: first an inner layer of Sar1, Sec23, and Sec24 forms; then the inner coat is surrounded by an outer lattice of Sec13 and Sec31.

Function

The COPII coat is responsible for the formation of vesicles from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These vesicles transport cargo proteins to the Golgi apparatus (in yeast) or the endoplasmic-reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC, in mammals). Coat assembly is initiated when 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 ...

Ras GTPase Ras, from "Rat sarcoma virus", is a family of related proteins that are expressed in all animal cell lineages and organs. All Ras protein family members belong to a class of protein called small GTPase, and are involved in transmitting signals ...

Sar1 is activated by its

guanine nucleotide exchange factor Guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) are proteins or protein domains that activate monomeric GTPases by stimulating the release of guanosine diphosphate (GDP) to allow binding of guanosine triphosphate (GTP). A variety of unrelated structu ...

Sec12. Activated Sar1-GTP inserts itself into the ER membrane, binding preferentially to areas of membrane curvature. As Sar1-GTP inserts into the membrane, it recruits Sec23 and Sec24 to make up the inner cage. Once the inner coat is assembled, the outer coat proteins Sec13 and Sec31 are recruited to the budding vesicle. Hydrolysis of the Sar1 GTP to GDP promotes disassembly of the coat. Some proteins are found to be responsible for selectively packaging cargos into COPII vesicles. More recent research suggests the Sec23/Sec24-Sar1 complex participates in cargo selection. For example, Erv29p in ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' is found to be necessary for packaging glycosylated pro-α-factor. Sec24 proteins recognize various cargo proteins, packaging them into the budding vesicles.

Structure

The COPII coat consists of an inner layer – a flexible meshwork of Sar1, Sec23, and Sec24 – and an outer layer made of Sec13 and Sec31. Sar1 resembles other Ras-family GTPases, with a core of six

beta strand The beta sheet (β-sheet, also β-pleated sheet) is a common structural motif, motif of the regular protein secondary structure. Beta sheets consist of beta strands (β-strands) connected laterally by at least two or three backbone chain, backbon ...

s flanked by three

alpha helices An alpha helix (or α-helix) is a sequence of amino acids in a protein that are twisted into a coil (a helix). The alpha helix is the most common structural arrangement in the secondary structure of proteins. It is also the most extreme type of l ...

, and two flexible "switch domains". Unlike other Ras GTPases, Sar1 inserts into membranes via an N-terminal helix (rather than myristoylation or

prenylation Prenylation (also known as isoprenylation or lipidation) is the addition of hydrophobic molecules to a protein or a biomolecule. It is usually assumed that prenyl groups (3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl) facilitate attachment to cell membranes, similar to ...

). These coat proteins are necessary but insufficient to direct or dock the vesicle to the correct target membrane.

SNARE SNARE proteins – "Soluble NSF attachment protein, SNAP REceptors" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts and more than 60 members in mammalian and plant cells. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to m ...

, cargo, and other proteins are also needed for these processes to occur. Pre-budding complex (composed of Sar1-GTP and Sec23/24) recruits the flexible Sec13p/31p complex, characterized by polymerization of the Sec13/31 complex with other Sec13/31 complexes to form a

cuboctahedron A cuboctahedron is a polyhedron with 8 triangular faces and 6 square faces. A cuboctahedron has 12 identical vertex (geometry), vertices, with 2 triangles and 2 squares meeting at each, and 24 identical edge (geometry), edges, each separating a tr ...

with a broader lattice than its

Clathrin Clathrin is a protein that plays a role in the formation of coated vesicles. Clathrin was first isolated by Barbara Pearse in 1976. It forms a triskelion shape composed of three clathrin heavy chains and three light chains. When the triskel ...

vesicle analog. The formation of the cuboctahedron deforms the ER membrane and detaches the COPII vesicle (alongside cargo proteins and v-SNAREs), completing the COPII vesicle budding process.

Regulation

The signal(s) that triggers Sec12 to initiate COPII assembly remains unclear, though some regulators of coat formation are now known. The frequency of COPII formation is regulated in part by Sec16A and Tango1 proteins, likely by concentrating Sec12 in a given location, so it can more efficiently activate Sar1.

Evolution

In mammals there are two Sar1 genes: ''SAR1A'' and ''SAR1B'' (''SAR1B'' was previously known as ''SARA2''). In cultured mammalian cells the two Sar1 genes appear redundant; however, in animals SAR1B is uniquely required for the formation of large (over 1 micrometer across) COPII-coated vesicles. Similarly, mammals express two Sec23 genes: ''SEC23A'' and ''SEC23B''. The two Sec23 isoforms have identical function but are expressed in different body tissues. Both Sec23 proteins can interact with any of the four Sec24 proteins: SEC24A, SEC24B, SEC24C, and SEC24D.

Role in disease

Lethal or pathogenic variants of most COPII proteins have been described. Loss of Sar1B in mice results in death soon after birth. In humans, inheriting two copies of certain SAR1B variants results in Chylomicron retention disease, and loss of Sar1B causes a combination of chylomicron retention disease and the neuromuscular disorder Marinesco–Sjögren syndrome. Loss of Sec23A is lethal to mice ''in utero''. In humans, a Sec23A variant causes Cranio-lenticulo-sutural dysplasia, while Sec23B variants are associated with the bone marrow disease congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II and some

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

s. Mice without Sec23B die soon after birth. Halperin-Birk syndrome (HLBKS), a rare autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder, is caused by a null mutation in the SEC31A.

Conformational changes

CopII has three specific binding sites that can each be complexed. The adjacent picture (Sed5) uses the Sec22 t-SNARE complex to bind. This site is more strongly bound, and therefore is more favored. (Embo)

Research

Mutations the

threonine Threonine (symbol Thr or T) is an amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH form when dissolved in water), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated −COO− ...

at position 39 to asparagine generates a dominant negative Sar1A bound permanently to GDP; mutating histidine 79 to glycine generates a constitutively active Sar1A, with GTP hydrolysis slowed dramatically.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copii Cell biology