Choukroun et al. report that PLA2 associates with the cell’s Golgi fraction, and they show that overexpression of the enzyme disrupts the organization of the Golgi apparatus and specifically blocks the trafficking of certain constitutively secreted proteins, while allowing other cargo proteins to be packaged normally into regulated secretory vesicles.
The fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus seen in PLA2-overexpressing cells is similar to a change that occurs during mitosis. The authors indicate that PLA2 activity rises during this period of the cell cycle, and they suggest that the accumulation of phospholipid metabolites in the Golgi membrane causes this organelle to vesiculate during cell division.
Journal of Clinical Investigation