© 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd | Journal of Cell Science (2018) 131, jcs209890. doi:10.1242/jcs.209890 CELL SCIENCE AT A GLANCE Formation of COPI-coated vesicles at a glance Eric C. Arakel1 and Blanche Schwappach1,2,* ABSTRACT unresolved, this review attempts to refocus the perspectives of The coat protein complex I (COPI) allows the precise sorting of lipids the field. and proteins between Golgi cisternae and retrieval from the Golgi KEY WORDS: Arf1, ArfGAP, COPI, Coatomer, Golgi, Endoplasmic to the ER. This essential role maintains the identity of the early reticulum, Vesicle coat secretory pathway and impinges on key cellular processes, such as protein quality control. In this Cell Science at a Glance and accompanying poster, we illustrate the different stages of COPI- Introduction coated vesicle formation and revisit decades of research in the Vesicle coat proteins, such as the archetypal clathrin and the coat context of recent advances in the elucidation of COPI coat structure. protein complexes II and I (COPII and COPI, respectively) are By calling attention to an array of questions that have remained molecular machines with two central roles: enabling vesicle formation, and selecting protein and lipid cargo to be packaged within them. Thus, coat proteins fulfil a central role in the 1Department of Molecular Biology, Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Humboldtallee homeostasis of the cell’s endomembrane system and are the basis 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany. 2Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. of functionally segregated compartments. COPI operates in retrieval from the Golgi to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and in intra-Golgi *Author for correspondence (
[email protected]) transport (Beck et al., 2009; Duden, 2003; Lee et al., 2004a; Spang, E.C.A., 0000-0001-7716-7149; B.S., 0000-0003-0225-6432 2009), and maintains ER- and Golgi-resident chaperones and enzymes where they belong.