Polarized Exocytosis

Abstract

<p class="first" id="d7667e122">Polarized exocytosis is generally considered as the multistep vesicular trafficking process in which membrane-bounded carriers are transported from the Golgi or endosomal compartments to specific sites of the plasma membrane. Polarized exocytosis in cells is achieved through the coordinated actions of membrane trafficking machinery and cytoskeleton orchestrated by signaling molecules such as the Rho family of small GTPases. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of polarized exocytosis is essential to our understanding of a wide range of pathophysiological processes from neuronal development to tumor invasion. </p><p class="first" id="d7667e125">Proteins and lipids are asymmetrically distributed on the surfaces of eukaryotic cells (e.g., epithelial and migrating cells). The main trafficking pathways and regulators that establish and maintain this distribution are conserved. </p>