Affinage

TMED7

Transmembrane emp24 domain-containing protein 7 · UniProt Q9Y3B3

Length
224 aa
Mass
25.2 kDa
Annotated
2026-06-10
22 papers in source corpus 12 papers cited in narrative 12 extracted findings
Cross-family judge vs UniProt: Affinage preferred faithfulness: 5/6 claims corpus-supported (83%)

Mechanistic narrative

Synthesis pass · prose summary of the discoveries below

TMED7 is a p24-family cargo sorting adaptor of the early secretory pathway that selects specific transmembrane cargoes for anterograde ER-to-Golgi-to-plasma membrane transport (PMID:25074978, PMID:37491993). Its best-defined cargo class is the cell-surface Toll-like receptors: TMED7 binds the ectodomains of TLR2, TLR4, and TLR5 but not endosomal TLR3 or TLR9, and dominant-negative TMED7 blocks export of these receptors from the ER, identifying it as a sorting adaptor dedicated to plasma-membrane-destined TLRs (PMID:25074978, PMID:37491993). Productive trafficking of TLR4 requires the TMED7 coiled-coil and GOLD ectodomain for cargo binding and its cytosolic COPII sorting motif and transmembrane anchor for correct localization; loss of TMED7 reduces MyD88-dependent TLR4 signaling, whereas truncated TMED7 mislocalizes receptors and drives ligand-independent signaling (PMID:25074978). Beyond receptor delivery, TMED7 acts as a negative regulator of endosomal TLR4 signaling, where it co-localizes with TRAM and TLR4 in late endosomes and is required for TAG-mediated disruption of the TRAM/TRIF complex and TLR4 degradation, restraining IRF3-dependent output (PMID:22426228); this brake is relieved when IRAK1-phosphorylated GAPR-1 binds TMED7 and impairs its disruption of the TRAM-TRIF complex (PMID:26678074). TMED7 abundance is set post-translationally: the intramembrane protease RHBDL4, transcriptionally induced upon TLR4 activation, degrades TMED7 to limit TLR4 surface delivery in a negative feedback loop that constrains inflammatory output in macrophage infection and septic shock (PMID:38453906). As a hetero-oligomeric p24 subunit, TMED7 stability depends on its partner TMED2, whose loss eliminates TMED7 and TMED10 from tissues (PMID:20178780), and the protein marks Golgi-derived transport vesicles that carry other cargoes such as E-cadherin to the cell surface under AGS3/Gαi control (PMID:33148610).

Mechanistic history

Synthesis pass · year-by-year structured walk · 7 steps
  1. 2009 Medium

    Established that this p24 subfamily member has a non-redundant role in early secretory cargo handling, ruling out simple functional interchangeability among p24 proteins.

    Evidence Melanotrope-specific transgenic overexpression of the p24gamma(3)/TMED7 ortholog in Xenopus with POMC pulse-chase, glycosylation and sulfation assays

    PMID:18699773

    Open questions at the time
    • Specific cargo selectivity in mammalian cells not addressed
    • Ortholog overexpression in a single cell type; physiological substrates undefined
  2. 2010 Medium

    Showed that TMED7 protein stability within the secretory pathway is enforced by hetero-oligomerization, defining it as an obligate complex subunit rather than a standalone factor.

    Evidence ENU-mutant 99J mouse lacking TMED2 with immunohistochemistry and western blotting of TMED7 and TMED10 in tissues; parallel Xenopus transgenic studies of subfamily non-redundancy and a negative APP/Abeta result

    PMID:20178780 PMID:20807314 PMID:21118709

    Open questions at the time
    • Stoichiometry and architecture of the TMED2/7/10 complex not resolved
    • Whether TMED7 has activity outside the complex untested
  3. 2012 High

    Defined a signaling-regulatory role distinct from trafficking by showing TMED7 restrains endosomal TLR4-TRAM-TRIF output.

    Evidence Overexpression/knockdown, co-IP, confocal co-localization with TRAM/TLR4 in late endosomes, IRF3 reporter and RANTES ELISA

    PMID:22426228

    Open questions at the time
    • Molecular mechanism by which TMED7 enables TAG-mediated TRAM/TRIF disruption unresolved
    • Direct binding interface with TRAM not mapped
  4. 2014 High

    Mapped the cargo-adaptor mechanism, demonstrating TMED7 binds the TLR4 ectodomain via its coiled-coil/GOLD domains and uses its COPII motif for forward transport.

    Evidence Co-IP with domain deletion/truncation mapping, siRNA knockdown with MyD88- vs TRIF-specific reporters, confocal microscopy

    PMID:25074978

    Open questions at the time
    • Structural basis of ectodomain recognition not determined
    • How a single adaptor reconciles trafficking versus endosomal signaling-inhibition roles unclear
  5. 2016 Medium

    Identified a signal-dependent switch that disables the TMED7 brake, linking MyD88/IRAK1 activity to enhanced TRIF-branch cytokine output.

    Evidence Co-IP, Ser58 phosphorylation assay, overexpression/knockdown, IFN-beta and IL-10 ELISA

    PMID:26678074

    Open questions at the time
    • Single lab without independent replication
    • Direct effect of GAPR-1 binding on the TMED7-TRAM-TRIF interaction not structurally defined
  6. 2023 Medium

    Generalized TMED7's adaptor function across the surface-TLR family, showing selective binding and export control for TLR2/4/5 but not endosomal TLR3/9.

    Evidence Protein interaction studies, dominant-negative TMED7 expression, confocal microscopy of TLR ER-to-Golgi export

    PMID:37491993

    Open questions at the time
    • Determinants distinguishing surface- from endosome-TLRs as cargo not defined
    • Single-lab interaction data
  7. 2024 High

    Closed the regulatory loop by identifying RHBDL4 as the protease that degrades TMED7 to dampen TLR4 surface delivery, providing in vivo relevance to infection and sepsis.

    Evidence RHBDL4 gain/loss-of-function, western blot of TMED7, flow cytometry of surface TLR4, cytokine assays, macrophage M. tuberculosis infection and mouse septic shock models

    PMID:38453906

    Open questions at the time
    • Cleavage site and processing intermediates of TMED7 by RHBDL4 not mapped
    • Whether RHBDL4 also regulates TMED7-dependent non-TLR cargo unknown

Open questions

Synthesis pass · forward-looking unresolved questions
  • How TMED7 mechanistically partitions between forward cargo transport (TLR2/4/5, E-cadherin, GLUT-3) and its endosomal signaling-inhibitory function, and the structural basis of its cargo selectivity, remain unresolved.
  • No structural model of TMED7-cargo recognition
  • Full set of physiological cargoes undefined
  • Coordination between trafficking and signaling roles unexplained

Mechanism profile

Synthesis pass · controlled-vocabulary classification · explore literature graph →
Molecular activity
GO:0038024 cargo receptor activity 3 GO:0060090 molecular adaptor activity 2 GO:0098772 molecular function regulator activity 2
Localization
GO:0005794 Golgi apparatus 3 GO:0005783 endoplasmic reticulum 2 GO:0005886 plasma membrane 2 GO:0031410 cytoplasmic vesicle 2 GO:0005768 endosome 1
Pathway
R-HSA-168256 Immune System 3 R-HSA-5653656 Vesicle-mediated transport 3 R-HSA-162582 Signal Transduction 2 R-HSA-9609507 Protein localization 2
Complex memberships
TMED2/TMED7/TMED10 p24 hetero-oligomer

Evidence

Reading pass · 12 per-paper findings extracted from the source corpus
Year Finding Method Journal Conf PMIDs
2014 TMED7 is required for trafficking of TLR4 from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface through the Golgi. TMED7 forms a stable complex with the ectodomain of TLR4, an interaction requiring the coiled-coil and GOLD domains but not the cytosolic COPII sorting motif of TMED7. Depletion of TMED7 reduces MyD88-dependent TLR4 signaling but not TRIF/TRAM-mediated signaling. Truncated TMED7 lacking the COPII sorting motif or transmembrane domain is mislocalized and causes ligand-independent signaling from intracellularly accumulated receptors. Co-immunoprecipitation, domain deletion/truncation analysis, siRNA knockdown, reporter assays for MyD88- and TRIF-dependent signaling, confocal microscopy Science Signaling High 25074978
2012 TMED7 inhibits MyD88-independent TLR4 signaling from endosomes. Upon LPS stimulation, TMED7 co-localizes with TRAM and TLR4 in late endosomes. TMED7 is essential for TAG-mediated disruption of the TRAM/TRIF complex and subsequent degradation of TLR4. TMED7 overexpression inhibits TRAM- or LPS-induced IRF3-signaling pathway activation, while TMED7 knockdown enhances RANTES production after LPS stimulation. Overexpression and knockdown studies, co-immunoprecipitation, co-localization by confocal microscopy, cytokine ELISA, reporter assays for IRF3 pathway Nature Communications High 22426228
2024 The intramembrane protease RHBDL4 negatively regulates TLR4 signaling by triggering degradation of TMED7, thereby counteracting TLR4 transport to the cell surface. TLR4 activation transcriptionally upregulates RHBDL4, creating a negative feedback loop that reduces TLR4 plasma membrane trafficking. This mechanism prevents over-activation of TLR4-dependent signaling during Mycobacterium tuberculosis macrophage infection and alleviates septic shock in a mouse model. RHBDL4 gain/loss-of-function, western blotting for TMED7 protein levels, flow cytometry for TLR4 surface expression, cytokine assays, in vitro macrophage infection model, mouse septic shock model Nature Communications High 38453906
2016 GAPR-1 (phosphorylated at Ser58 by IRAK1 downstream of MyD88 signaling) interacts with TMED7, and this phosphorylation-dependent interaction impairs TMED7-mediated disruption of the TRAM-TRIF complex, thereby promoting IFN-β and IL-10 secretion downstream of TLR4. Co-immunoprecipitation, phosphorylation assay, overexpression/knockdown, ELISA for IFN-β and IL-10 Inflammation Medium 26678074
2023 TMED7 interacts with TLR2, TLR4, and TLR5 but not with TLR3 or TLR9 in protein interaction studies. Dominant-negative forms of TMED7 suppress the export of cell-surface TLRs from the ER to the Golgi, establishing TMED7 as a cargo sorting adaptor specifically required for anterograde trafficking of plasma membrane-destined TLRs. Protein interaction studies (co-immunoprecipitation/pulldown), dominant-negative TMED7 expression, confocal microscopy for TLR trafficking Traffic Medium 37491993
2010 TMED2/p24beta(1) loss in the 99J mouse mutant results in absence of its oligomerization partners TMED7/p24gamma(3) and TMED10/p24delta(1) from affected tissues, demonstrating that TMED7 protein stability/localization depends on TMED2 within hetero-oligomeric p24 complexes. ENU mutagenesis mouse model, immunohistochemistry and western blotting for TMED7 and TMED10 protein levels in mutant vs wild-type tissues Developmental Biology Medium 20178780
2009 In Xenopus melanotrope cells, transgenic overexpression of p24gamma(3) (TMED7 ortholog) affects endogenous p24gamma(3) levels, reduces cargo (POMC) cleavage rate (suggesting reduced ER-to-Golgi transport), and affects POMC glycosylation, demonstrating a non-redundant role for this p24 subfamily member in early secretory pathway cargo processing distinct from other p24 members. Melanotrope cell-specific transgene expression in Xenopus laevis, pulse-chase radiolabeling, glycosylation and sulfation assays, western blotting Biology of the Cell Medium 18699773
2010 In Xenopus melanotrope cells, p24gamma(3) (TMED7 ortholog) has a distinct function from its subfamily relative p24gamma(2) in secretory cargo transport, glycosylation, sulfation, and cleavage of POMC, demonstrating functional non-redundancy even among same-subfamily p24 proteins. Melanotrope-specific transgene expression in Xenopus, POMC processing assays (glycosylation, sulfation, cleavage) Biochimie Medium 21118709
2015 TMED7/p27 localizes specifically to unstacked flattened Golgi cisternae of the Hermes body (cytoplasmic droplet) of epididymal sperm, as determined by quantitative electron microscope gold antibody labeling, and is segregated from the acrosome during spermiogenesis. TMED7-positive vesicles (~50 nm) emanate from these Golgi cisternae, proposed to transport GLUT-3 to the plasma membrane. Quantitative electron microscopy immunogold labeling, tandem mass spectrometry, light microscopy immunolocalization Open Biology Medium 26311421
2015 During acrosome formation in spermiogenesis, TMED7/p27 is segregated from the acrosome and continues to mark Golgi identity as the Golgi migrates away from the acrosome in later steps of spermatid differentiation. Immunofluorescence microscopy, subcellular fractionation, mass spectrometry of germ cell Golgi fractions Molecular Biology of the Cell Medium 25808494
2020 In early mouse embryos, AGS3 knockout causes dispersal of TMED7-positive vesicles (tracked by fluorescent protein tagging) and impairs their polarization toward the membrane, with concomitant reduction of E-cadherin (Cdh1) at cell-contact surfaces. This establishes TMED7-positive vesicles as carriers of Cdh1 cargo to the plasma membrane in a process regulated by AGS3/Gαi signaling. CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of AGS3, fluorescent protein tagging of TMED7 and TGN46 in mouse embryos, live imaging, immunofluorescence Journal of Cell Science Medium 33148610
2010 Knockdown of p24gamma(3)/TMED7 did not alter Aβ secretion or APP processing in cell-based and cell-free assays, indicating TMED7 does not modulate gamma-secretase cleavage of APP (negative result). siRNA knockdown, cell-based and cell-free Aβ secretion assays Journal of Neurochemistry Medium 20807314

Source papers

Stage 0 corpus · 22 papers · ranked by NIH iCite citations
Year Title Journal Citations PMID
2005 Identification of differentially expressed genes in metastatic and non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by suppression subtractive hybridization. Cellular oncology : the official journal of the International Society for Cellular Oncology 66 16308470
2010 The trafficking protein Tmed2/p24beta(1) is required for morphogenesis of the mouse embryo and placenta. Developmental biology 57 20178780
2014 The COP II adaptor protein TMED7 is required to initiate and mediate the delivery of TLR4 to the plasma membrane. Science signaling 52 25074978
2012 The GOLD domain-containing protein TMED7 inhibits TLR4 signalling from the endosome upon LPS stimulation. Nature communications 48 22426228
2013 Whole-genome integrative analysis reveals expression signatures predicting transformation in follicular lymphoma. Blood 47 24357726
2019 Dark side of the epididymis: tails of sperm maturation. Andrology 34 31102346
2009 Functional diversity among p24 subfamily members. Biology of the cell 30 18699773
2015 Compartmentalization of membrane trafficking, glucose transport, glycolysis, actin, tubulin and the proteasome in the cytoplasmic droplet/Hermes body of epididymal sperm. Open biology 24 26311421
2015 Expression, sorting, and segregation of Golgi proteins during germ cell differentiation in the testis. Molecular biology of the cell 23 25808494
2016 Classification of Cholestatic and Necrotic Hepatotoxicants Using Transcriptomics on Human Precision-Cut Liver Slices. Chemical research in toxicology 21 26881866
2024 RHBDL4-triggered downregulation of COPII adaptor protein TMED7 suppresses TLR4-mediated inflammatory signaling. Nature communications 19 38453906
2016 The Golgi-Associated Plant Pathogenesis-Related Protein GAPR-1 Enhances Type I Interferon Signaling Pathway in Response to Toll-Like Receptor 4. Inflammation 16 26678074
2010 Dilysine retrieval signal-containing p24 proteins collaborate in inhibiting γ-cleavage of amyloid precursor protein. Journal of neurochemistry 11 20807314
2025 Several variants on chromosome 10 are associated with coarse hair diameter in Dazu black goats (Capra hircus). Animal genetics 5 39844587
2021 Overexpression of microRNA-340-5p Ameliorates Inflammatory Response and Intracellular Survival of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Alveolar Type II Cells. Infection and drug resistance 5 33911883
2010 p24 Proteins from the same subfamily are functionally nonredundant. Biochimie 5 21118709
2020 Predictive Gene Signature for Pyrazolopyrimidine Derivative c-Src Inhibitor 10a Sensitivity in Melanoma Cells. ACS medicinal chemistry letters 4 32435407
2020 AGS3-dependent trans-Golgi network membrane trafficking is essential for compaction in mouse embryos. Journal of cell science 3 33148610
2025 Transcriptomic and Proteomic Insights Into Buffalo Milk Fat Synthesis and the Role of IGFBP4 in BMECs. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 2 40874303
2023 Anterograde trafficking of Toll-like receptors requires the cargo sorting adaptors TMED-2 and 7. Traffic (Copenhagen, Denmark) 2 37491993
2026 Proteomic Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid: Toward the Identification of Biomarkers for Early Central Nervous System Infection. Infection and drug resistance 0 41877912
2026 Evolocumab Alters Transcriptomic Signatures and Identifies Inflammatory Biomarkers in Brain-Heart Syndrome with Coronary Heart Disease History. International journal of general medicine 0 42205681

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