Prof. Dr. Uwe Kornak, MD (Göttingen, Germany): The Secretory Pathway, Glycosylation, and Cutis Laxa

Secreted proteins and membrane proteins have to pass through the secretory pathway, which is not only responsible for the transport to the correct cellular compartment, but also for the maturation and modification of these proteins. A central part of the secretory pathway is the Golgi compartment, which consists of several « pancake-like » membrane sacks (cisternae).

One important modification is glycosylation, which has been found altered in a whole group of Cutis Laxa disorders, that are also named congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG).