Copper homeostasis: specialized functions of the late secretory pathway.

ABSTRACT

Differentiated cells have evolved mechanisms to adapt the functions of the late secretory pathway to the specific needs of the organism. Reporting in this issue of Developmental Cell, Polishchuk et al. (2014) demonstrate that hepatocytes utilize a unique exocytic aspect of the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment to maintain organismal copper homeostasis.