Pre-Golgi Intermediate Compartment

The pre-Golgi intermediate compartment (IC), also referred to as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi IC (ERGIC), functions in molecular sorting and two-way trafficking in the early biosynthetic-secretory pathway. It receives newly synthesized proteins and lipids from the ER, associates with cytoskeletal filaments and binds COPI protein coats, thereby generating saccular, tubular and vesicular carriers that mediate antero- and retrograde transport at the ER-Golgi interface. Although the dynamic IC elements have traditionally been considered as transient transport intermediates, recent results showing their persistence during cell division, multifunctionality, and operation at the crossroads of Golgi-dependent and -independent transport routes provide evidence that they constitute a permanent organelle.