Control of interorganelle membrane contact formation – CO-CON

Eukaryotic cells are compartmentalized in distinct organelles, each of them hosting specialized functions. They are not isolated from each other but physically and transiently connected, through the formation of membrane contact sites (MCS). The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the most connected organelle, owing to the presence along its surface of receptors of the VAMP-associated protein (VAP) family. These receptors VAP-A, VAP-B and the recently identified MOSPD2, by recognizing a short linear peptide motif called FFAT, are critical for the formation and the function of ER-organelle contact sites. Yet our knowledge on MCSs reaches its limit. We do not know how these contacts are regulated. The aim of this project is to unveil a new mechanism regulating the formation of MCS and establish the repertoire of constitutive and regulatable complexes bridging the ER with other organelles.