The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol 96, 1117-1119, Copyright © 1983 by The Rockefeller University Press

Transport and cleavage of bacterial pre--lactamase by mammalian microsomes

Eucaryotic endoplasmic reticulum and bacterial inner cell membranes use strikingly similar mechanisms to transport proteins from one cellular compartment to another. Using a mammalian linked transcription-translation system, we show here that canine pancreatic microsomes accurately cleave off the signal sequence of -lactamase, a secreted bacterial protein. We suggest that the apparent differences between bacterial and eukaryotic protein transport may involve only minor modulations of a profoundly conserved mechanism.