Golgi GRASPs: Moonlighting membrane tethers

Abstract

The identification of mammalian Golgi reassembly stacking proteins (GRASPs) 15 years ago was followed by experiments implicating them in diverse functions, including two differing structural roles in Golgi biogenesis and at least two distinct roles in the secretion of proteins. GRASP55 and GRASP65 are localized to cis and medial/trans Golgi cisternae, respectively. They are both required for stacking of Golgi membranes in a Golgi reassembly assay. Depletion of either GRASP from cultured cells prevents the linking of Golgi membranes into their normal ribbon-like network. While GRASPs are not required for transport of secretory cargo per se, they are required for ER-to-Golgi transport of certain specific cargo, such as those containing a C-terminal valine motif. Surprisingly, GRASPs also promote secretion of cargo by the so-called unconventional secretory pathway, which bypasses the Golgi apparatus where the GRASPs reside. Furthermore, regulation of GRASP activity is now recognized for its connections to cell cycle control, development, and disease. Underlying these diverse activities is the structurally conserved N-terminal GRASP domain whose crystal structure was recently determined. It consists of a tandem array of atypical PSD95-DlgA-Zo-1 (PDZ) domains, which are well-known protein-protein interaction motifs. The GRASP PDZ domains are used to localize the proteins to the Golgi as well as GRASP-mediated membrane tethering and cargo interactions. These activities are regulated, in part, by phosphorylation of the large unstructured C-terminal domain. © 2012 Jarvela and Linstedt, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd.