Making the connection: How membrane contact sites have changed our view of organelle biology

• Published in: Cell Vol. 187; no. 2; pp. 257 - 270
• Main Authors: Voeltz, G.K., Sawyer, E.M., Hajnóczky, G., Prinz, W.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 18.01.2024
• Subjects: Biology; Cell Membrane - metabolism; Intracellular Membranes - chemistry; Intracellular Membranes - metabolism; Mitochondrial Membranes; Organelles - chemistry; Organelles - metabolism
• ISSN: 0092-8674; 1097-4172
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.040

The view of organelles and how they operate together has changed dramatically over the last two decades. The textbook view of organelles was that they operated largely independently and were connected by vesicular trafficking and the diffusion of signals through the cytoplasm. We now know that all organelles make functional close contacts with one another, often called membrane contact sites. The study of these sites has moved to center stage in cell biology as it has become clear that they play critical roles in healthy and developing cells and during cell stress and disease states. Contact sites have important roles in intracellular signaling, lipid metabolism, motor-protein-mediated membrane dynamics, organelle division, and organelle biogenesis. Here, we summarize the major conceptual changes that have occurred in cell biology as we have come to appreciate how contact sites integrate the activities of organelles. Membrane contact sites between organelles act as hubs for lipid transport, calcium signaling, lipid droplet biogenesis, and organelle dynamics. This review discusses the conceptual changes in cell biology that have occurred, with the examination of how membrane contact sites modulate organelle function and integrate their operations.