Any process that results in a change in state or activity of a cell or an organism (in terms of movement, secretion, enzyme production, gene expression, etc.) as a result of a stimulus indicating an increase or decrease in the concentration of salt (particularly but not exclusively sodium and chloride ions) in the environment.

Fusion of the membrane of a transport vesicle with its target membrane.

The directed movement of substances from endosomes to lysosomes.

A closed structure, found only in eukaryotic cells, that is completely surrounded by unit membrane and contains liquid material. Cells contain one or several vacuoles, that may have different functions from each other. Vacuoles have a diverse array of functions. They can act as a storage organelle for nutrients or waste products, as a degradative compartment, as a cost-effective way of increasing cell size, and as a homeostatic regulator controlling both turgor pressure and pH of the cytosol.

A compound membranous cytoplasmic organelle of eukaryotic cells, consisting of flattened, ribosome-free vesicles arranged in a more or less regular stack. The Golgi apparatus differs from the endoplasmic reticulum in often having slightly thicker membranes, appearing in sections as a characteristic shallow semicircle so that the convex side (cis or entry face) abuts the endoplasmic reticulum, secretory vesicles emerging from the concave side (trans or exit face). In vertebrate cells there is usually one such organelle, while in invertebrates and plants, where they are known usually as dictyosomes, there may be several scattered in the cytoplasm. The Golgi apparatus processes proteins produced on the ribosomes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum; such processing includes modification of the core oligosaccharides of glycoproteins, and the sorting and packaging of proteins for transport to a variety of cellular locations. Three different regions of the Golgi are now recognized both in terms of structure and function: cis, in the vicinity of the cis face, trans, in the vicinity of the trans face, and medial, lying between the cis and trans regions.

A specialized vacuole of eukaryotic cells, especially Protozoa, that fills with water from the cytoplasm and then discharges this externally by the opening of contractile vacuole pores. Its function is probably osmoregulatory.

The lipid bilayer surrounding the lysosome and separating its contents from the cell cytoplasm.

A vacuole to which materials ingested by endocytosis are delivered.

The lipid bilayer surrounding the endoplasmic reticulum.

A protein complex involved in membrane fusion; a stable ternary complex consisting of a four-helix bundle, usually formed from one R-SNARE and three Q-SNAREs with an ionic layer sandwiched between hydrophobic layers. One well-characterized example is the neuronal SNARE complex formed of synaptobrevin 2, syntaxin 1a, and SNAP-25.

The lipid bilayer surrounding a late endosome.