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Nature 448, 435-438 (26 July 2007) | doi:10.1038/nature06004

A lipid-based model for the creation of an escape hatch from the endoplasmic reticulum

Hidde L. Ploegh1

  1. Whitehead Institute, MIT Department of Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA

Correspondence to: Hidde L. Ploegh1 Correspondence should be addressed to H.L.P. (Email: ploegh@wi.mit.edu).

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Lipids are not encoded by a DNA template and therefore cannot be mutated, knocked out or knocked down. This by no means renders them impotent from a cell biological perspective. Here I propose a model for the involvement of lipid rearrangements in the execution of crucial steps in (glyco)protein quality control.