Deciphering the molecular architecture of membrane contact sites by cryo-electron tomography

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2017
Source:Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research
Author(s): Javier Collado, Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego
At membrane contact sites (MCS) two cellular membranes form tight appositions that play critical roles in fundamental phenomena such as lipid metabolism or Ca²⁺ homeostasis. The interest for these structures has surged in recent years, bringing about the characterization of a plethora of MCS-resident molecules. How those molecules are structurally organized at MCS remains enigmatic, limiting our understanding of MCS function. Whereas such molecular detail is obscured by conventional electron microscopy sample preparation, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) is uniquely positioned to address this challenge by allowing high resolution imaging of cellular landscapes in close-to-native conditions. Here we briefly review the fundamentals of cryo-ET and how recent developments in this technique are beginning to unveil the molecular architecture of MCS. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Membrane Contact Sites edited by Christian Ungermann and Benoit Kornmann.



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