Vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 35 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the VPS35 gene.
This gene belongs to a group of vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) genes. The encoded protein is a component of a large multimeric complex, termed the retromer complex, involved in retrograde transport of proteins from endosomes to the trans-Golgi network. The close structural similarity between the yeast and human proteins that make up this complex suggests a similarity in function. Expression studies in yeast and mammalian cells indicate that this protein interacts directly with VPS35, which serves as the core of the retromer complex.
Vps35 is the largest subunit of retromer with the molecular weight of 92-kDa and functions as the central platform for the assembly of Vps26 and Vps29. Vps35 resembles many other helical solenoid proteins including AP adaptor protein complexes that are characterized with repeated structural units in a continuous superhelix arrangement involved in coated vesicle trafficking. The curved surface of the 6 even-numbered helices within solenoid structure with series of ridges separating hydrophobic grooves function as potential cargo binding sites. The C-terminal of Vps35 contains an α-solenoid fold that fits into the metal binding pocket of Vps29.