Ent3p and Ent5p exhibit cargo-specific functions in trafficking proteins between the trans-Golgi network and the endosomes in yeast.

The phosphoinositide-binding proteins Ent3p and Ent5p are required for protein transport from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to the vacuole in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both proteins interact with the monomeric clathrin adaptor Gga2p, but Ent5p also interacts with the clathrin adaptor protein 1 (AP-1) complex, which facilitates retention of proteins such as Chs3p at the TGN. When both ENT3 and ENT5 are mutated, Chs3p is diverted from an intracellular reservoir to the cell surface. However, Ent3p and Ent5p are not required for the function of AP-1, but rather they seem to act in parallel with AP-1 to retain proteins such as Chs3p at the TGN. They have all the properties of clathrin adaptors, because they can both bind to clathrin and to cargo proteins. Like AP-1, Ent5p binds to Chs3p, whereas Ent3p facilitates the interaction between Gga2p and the endosomal syntaxin Pep12p. Thus, Ent3p has an additional function in Gga-dependent transport to the late endosome. Ent3p also facilitates the association between Gga2p and clathrin; however, Ent5p can partially substitute for this function. We conclude that the clathrin adaptors AP-1, Ent3p, Ent5p, and the Ggas cooperate in different ways to sort proteins between the TGN and the endosomes.