Vti Proteins: Beyond Endolysosomal Trafficking

Abstract

Vti proteins are conserved from yeast to humans and regulate intracellular membrane trafficking by providing one specific SNARE domain, the Qb SNARE, to the four helical SNARE bundle that drives membrane fusion. Two mammalian Vti genes, Vti1a and Vti1b are reported to regulate distinct aspects of endolysosomal trafficking and retrograde transport to the Golgi, but have also been implicated in synaptic vesicle secretion. In this review, we summarize the current evidence for the role of Vti proteins in intracellular trafficking in different cells. We propose that, despite some unique aspects, the two mammalian VTI genes have largely redundant functions in neurosecretory cells and recycle molecules required for the sorting of regulated cargo to the Golgi. Defects in this recycling also lead to defects in synaptic transmission and dense core vesicle secretion.

Keywords: SNARE proteins; dense core vesicle; exocytosis; secretory vesicle; vesicle biogenesis.