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Abstract : |
Transport of precursor proteins into the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) requires signal peptides in the precursor proteins and a protein translocase in the ER membrane. Recent findings about the protein translocase of the mammalian ER suggest that the membrane is permeable to small molecules during protein translocation/insertion. Since the ER also plays a central role in calcium homeostasis the question arises of how these two activities of the ER are reconciled. Here two EF-hand proteins of the ER were characterized as associates of protein translocase. A model for the activity of these proteins in protein transport and calcium homeostasis is proposed., |
