{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,26]],"date-time":"2026-07-26T09:00:15Z","timestamp":1785056415273,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000057","name":"National Institute of General Medical Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["R35GM150892"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R35GM150892"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000057","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Contact: The Journal of Inter-Organelle Communication"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Membrane contact sites are organized by protein assemblies that physically couple organelles and coordinate lipid metabolism, yet the structural principles that enable lipid exchange across these junctions remain poorly defined. At the nuclear-vacuolar junction (NVJ) in budding yeast, the tethering protein Mdm1 and its binding partner Nvj3 form a complex that regulates lipid metabolic pathways, but the structural features underlying their interaction have not been resolved. Here, we use AlphaFold-based complex prediction and comparative structural analysis to define the organization of Nvj3-Mdm1 complex assembly. We identify a high-confidence heterodimer in which conserved PXA and PXC domains generate an extended tunnel spanning both proteins. Tunnel analysis predicts a core hydrophobic conduit traversing the Nvj3-Mdm1 interface, consistent with a lipid-compatible architecture. Evolutionary conservation is enriched at the Nvj3-Mdm1 interface. The predicted conduit shares geometric and physicochemical properties with bridge-like lipid transfer proteins, including Atg2, Fmp27, and Hob2, suggesting that heteromeric tether assemblies may contribute directly to inter-organelle lipid transfer. Notably, this conduit is predicted to arise from a heteromeric \u03b1-helical assembly rather than the \u03b2-sheet-rich architecture characteristic of canonical bridge-like lipid transfer proteins. Comparative phylogenetic analyses showed that Nvj3 and Mdm1 share broadly congruent evolutionary patterns across Saccharomycetes, consistent with their conserved functional association. Together, these findings define Nvj3 as a structural partner of Mdm1 and support a conduit-based model of lipid transfer at the NVJ.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/25152564261471395","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T10:17:08Z","timestamp":1784888228000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Structural Organization of the Nvj3-Mdm1 Complex Reveals a Conserved Lipid-Compatible Contact Site Module"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Marwa","family":"Aboumourad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Wayne State University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-4044-9597","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hanaa","family":"Hariri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wayne State University"},{"name":"Wayne State University School of Medicine"},{"name":"Karmanos Cancer Institute"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_6_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-024-07487-w"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_3_1","article-title":"Nvj3 regulates Dga1-mediated triacylglycerol synthesis and lipid droplet formation at ER contact sites","author":"Adebayo D.","year":"2026","unstructured":"Adebayo D., Obaseki E., Miller S., Aboumourad M., Saadeh Z., Pomicter Z., Kreinbring L., Rahal M., Vasudeva K., Frost G., Smadi R., Hariri H. (2026). Nvj3 regulates Dga1-mediated triacylglycerol synthesis and lipid droplet formation at ER contact sites. bioRxiv: The Preprint Server for Biology, 2026, 2026.01.05.695145. 01.05.695145. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.64898\/2026.01.05.695145","journal-title":"bioRxiv: The Preprint Server for Biology"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1091\/mbc.E26-03-0111"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkw408"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.devcel.2020.06.026"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.74602"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-09355-y"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmb.2024.168891"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2105-11-286"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-819460-7.00082-7"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.202203061"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15252\/embr.201744815"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.201808119"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1083\/jcb.201503088"},{"issue":"45","key":"e_1_3_6_16_1","first-page":"E9502","article-title":"Crystal structures of Mmm1 and Mdm12\u2013Mmm1 reveal mechanistic insight into phospholipid trafficking at ER-mitochondria contact sites","volume":"114","author":"Jeong H.","year":"2017","unstructured":"Jeong H., Park J., Jun Y., Lee C. (2017). Crystal structures of Mmm1 and Mdm12\u2013Mmm1 reveal mechanistic insight into phospholipid trafficking at ER-mitochondria contact sites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(45), E9502\u2013E9511. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1715592114","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bib\/bbx108"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/25152564211016608"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkac998"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1242\/jcs.03093"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_21_1","first-page":"251525642211343","article-title":"Sequence Analysis and Structural Predictions of Lipid Transfer Bridges in the Repeating Beta Groove (RBG) Superfamily Reveal Past and Present Domain Variations Affecting Form, Function and Interactions of VPS13, ATG2, SHIP164, Hobbit and Tweek","volume":"5","author":"Levine T. P.","year":"2022","unstructured":"Levine T. P. (2022). Sequence Analysis and Structural Predictions of Lipid Transfer Bridges in the Repeating Beta Groove (RBG) Superfamily Reveal Past and Present Domain Variations Affecting Form, Function and Interactions of VPS13, ATG2, SHIP164, Hobbit and Tweek. Contact (Thousand Oaks (Ventura County, Calif.)), 5, 251525642211343. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/25152564221134328","journal-title":"Contact (Thousand Oaks (Ventura County, Calif.))"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.45777"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41594-020-00520-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0854.2008.00789.x"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tcb.2022.03.011"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/1873-3468.14808"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41594-019-0203-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_28_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1091\/mbc.11.7.2445"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_29_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fcell.2022.826688"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_30_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fcell.2022.826688"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_31_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/protein\/14.9.609"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_32_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pro.3943"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_33_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gky309"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_34_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41580-019-0180-9"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_35_1","volume-title":"R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing","author":"R Core Team","year":"2025","unstructured":"R Core Team. 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