The ability to balance the amount of cellular components, remove damaged entities and recycle molecules by controlled degradation is crucial for cellular function and homeostasis. Lysosomes play a central role by acting as a major hub for degrading proteins, polysaccharides and lipids delivered by autophagy and endocytosis. This is mediated by various hydrolases, specifically acting in the acidic environment maintained in the lysosomal lumen. The lysosomal degradation chamber is isolated from the rest of the cell by a lipid bilayer containing numerous membrane proteins, which are coordinating the functions of lysosomes in processes such as cell homeostasis, metabolism, signalling and stress responses. The membrane proteins themselves are protected on the luminal side by glycosylation, which is key to lysosomal integrity...Read more

Enolase 1 (ENO1), or alpha enolase, is a glycolytic enzyme with a highly interesting subcellular localization profile. In the subcellular section of the Human Protein Atlas, it is apparent that alpha enolase can be found both in the cytosol, at the plasma membrane and in the nucleus, making it one of thousands of multi-localizing proteins...Read more

This week, it is Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week. Therefore we would like to take the opportunity to talk about the mitochondrial proteome, the work we do within this field, and you will even get to meet one of our researchers, involved in this work.

The mitochondria are distributed throughout the cytoplasm of the cell, each organelle enclosed by a double membrane, the inner one forming the characteristic folds known as cristae. Mitochondria are essential for producing the cell´s need of ATP through cellular respiration, but have also been shown to participate in many other cellular functions, including apoptosis, calcium storage and cellular signaling...Read more

Welcome to another HPA image of the week! This week we take a look at another member of the vesicle family, the lysosomes.

In a way, lysosomes can be thought of as the recycling plants of your cells. Lysosomes are small membrane bound vesicular organelles that degrade biomolecules within your cells so that the materials in these molecules can be recycled and used for other cellular processes. Often these biomolecules come from vesicles known as endosomes that bring in materials from outside your cells, however lysosomes are also known to degrade other organelles, and products from within the cell...Read more

Welcome back blog fans! After a brief hiatus the image of the week highlights from the HPA are back! This week we are discussing the Endoplasmic reticulum, which is not just difficult to say, but is where many of your proteins are made.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is one of the largest organelles in the cell. It is a delicate membranous network composed of sheets and tubules that spreads throughout the whole cytoplasm and is actually contiguous to the nuclear membrane. Two major forms of the ER can be distinguished: the rough ER and the smooth ER. Both have different functions...Read more