ESCRT-0 complex

GO:0033565 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A protein complex required for the recycling of Golgi proteins, formation of lumenal membranes and sorting of ubiquitinated proteins into those membranes. This complex includes Vps1p and Hse1p in yeast and the Hrs and STAM proteins in mammals. [GO:0033565]

Synonyms: Hrs/STAM complex; Vps27p-Hse1p complex

Part of: endosome (GO:0005768)

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
Vps27 ESCRT-0 subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	VPS27		UNKNOWN	Vps27 ubiquitin-binding constituent of the yeast Vps27p-Hse1p ESCRT-0 complex. `DOI:10.1038/ncb815` Bilodeau, Urbanowski, Winistorfer and Piper 2002 characterized Vps27p as one member of the yeast Vps27p-Hse1p complex that binds ubiquitin and mediates endosomal protein sorting. `DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.05.015` Henne, Buchkovich and Emr 2011 reviewed Vps27 as the yeast ESCRT-0 cargo-recognition subunit in the endosomal ESCRT pathway.
Hse1 ESCRT-0 subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	HSE1		UNKNOWN	Hse1 ubiquitin-binding constituent of the yeast Vps27p-Hse1p ESCRT-0 complex. `DOI:10.1038/ncb815` Bilodeau, Urbanowski, Winistorfer and Piper 2002 characterized Hse1p as one member of the yeast Vps27p-Hse1p complex that binds ubiquitin and mediates endosomal protein sorting. `DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.05.015` Henne, Buchkovich and Emr 2011 reviewed Hse1 as the second yeast ESCRT-0 subunit in the endosomal ESCRT pathway.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast uses the Vps27p-Hse1p ESCRT-0 complex for ubiquitin-dependent endosomal protein sorting. [DOI:10.1038/ncb815]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Model in which Bilodeau, Urbanowski, Winistorfer and Piper characterized the Vps27p-Hse1p complex as a ubiquitin-binding ESCRT-0 cargo-recognition complex. [DOI:10.1038/ncb815]

Functions

multivesicular body sorting pathway GO:0071985 — ESCRT-0 recognizes ubiquitinated endosomal cargo and acts upstream of ESCRT-I during MVB cargo sorting.
- GO:0071985 GO:0071985 denotes the vesicle-mediated transport pathway that moves ubiquitylated transmembrane proteins into multivesicular-body luminal vesicles.
- DOI:10.1038/ncb815 Bilodeau et al. 2002 identified the Vps27p-Hse1p complex as a ubiquitin-binding endosomal sorting factor in budding yeast.

Mechanism graphs

ESCRT-0 recognizes ubiquitinated yeast MVB cargo (FUNCTION)

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Vps27 and Hse1 form ESCRT-0, which binds ubiquitinated cargo, and Vps27 recruits ESCRT-I during the endosomal MVB sorting cascade.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Vps27 ESCRT-0 subunit	is part of	ESCRT-0 complex	`DOI:10.1038/ncb815` Bilodeau et al. 2002 characterized Vps27p in the yeast Vps27p-Hse1p complex.
Hse1 ESCRT-0 subunit	is part of	ESCRT-0 complex	`DOI:10.1038/ncb815` Bilodeau et al. 2002 characterized Hse1p in the yeast Vps27p-Hse1p complex.
ESCRT-0 complex	binds	ubiquitinated MVB cargo	`DOI:10.1038/ncb815` Bilodeau et al. 2002 showed that the Vps27p-Hse1p complex binds ubiquitin.
Vps27 ESCRT-0 subunit	recruits	ESCRT I complex	`DOI:10.1083/jcb.200302136` Katzmann, Stefan, Babst and Emr 2003 found that Vps27 recruits ESCRT-I to endosomes.
ESCRT-0 complex	participates in	multivesicular body sorting pathway	`DOI:10.1038/ncb815` Bilodeau et al. 2002 placed the Vps27p-Hse1p complex in yeast endosomal protein sorting.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral InterPro or Pfam groundings for the Vps27/Hrs and Hse1/STAM ESCRT-0 subunit classes. This first ESCRT-0 record records the named Saccharomyces cerevisiae Vps27 and Hse1 subunits and the mammalian Hrs/STAM synonym without asserting exact yeast-to-mammal family mappings unless those identifiers are reviewed exactly.
CURATION_TODO (RESOLVED): Do not model Vps1 as a constituent component of yeast ESCRT-0. The GO:0033565 definition text currently names Vps1p, but its exact Vps27p-Hse1p synonym and Bilodeau et al. 2002 identify Vps27p with Hse1p as the yeast ESCRT-0 complex curated here.

Evidence

GO:0033565 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for ESCRT-0 complex.
GO:0036452 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for the ESCRT complex class.
GO:0005768 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the endosome.
GO:0071985 Gene Ontology biological-process term for the multivesicular body sorting pathway.
DOI:10.1038/ncb815 Bilodeau, Urbanowski, Winistorfer and Piper 2002, The Vps27p-Hse1p complex binds ubiquitin and mediates endosomal protein sorting, Nature Cell Biology.
DOI:10.1083/jcb.200302136 Katzmann, Stefan, Babst and Emr 2003, Vps27 recruits ESCRT machinery to endosomes during MVB sorting, Journal of Cell Biology.
DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.05.015 Henne, Buchkovich and Emr 2011, The ESCRT Pathway, Developmental Cell.

Curation history

2026-09-16T16:40:08Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-16T16:41:15Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added ESCRT-0 synonymy, GO parentage and endosome parthood, reviewed-label-only Vps27 and Hse1 core subunits, Saccharomyces scope, an MVB sorting function, GO/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic yeast cargo recognition graph, a subunit-grounding TODO, and a resolved Vps1 boundary decision.
2026-09-16T16:53:45Z codex · ADDRESSED_PR_REVIEW — Constrained the Katzmann 2003 ESCRT-I recruitment edge to Vps27 instead of the whole ESCRT-0 complex for PR #1110 / issue #1111.

Source: data/structures/other/escrt_0_complex.yaml