Organelle Trafficking
Organelle Trafficking - Related Videos
08:55
Visualizing Cytoskeleton-Dependent Trafficking of Lipid-Containing Organelles in Drosophila Embryos
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Cited by 5 •
2021
In the early Drosophila embryo, many organelles are motile. In principle, they can be imaged live via specific fluorescent probes, but the eggshell prevents direct application to the embryo. This protocol describes how to introduce such probes via microinjection, and then analyze bulk organelle motion via particle image velocimetry.
11:27
Analysis of SCAP N-glycosylation and Trafficking in Human Cells
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Cited by 17 •
2016
We describe a modified method for membrane fraction isolation from human cells and sample preparation for the detection of SCAP N-glycosylation and total protein by using western blot. We further introduce a GFP-labeling method to monitor SCAP trafficking using confocal microscopy. This protocol can be used in regular biology laboratories.
15:39
Studying Organelle Dynamics in B Cells During Immune Synapse Formation
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Cited by 8 •
2019
Herein we describe two approaches to characterize cell polarization events in B lymphocytes during the formation of an IS. The first, involves quantification of organelle recruitment and cytoskeleton rearrangements at the synaptic membrane. The second is a biochemical approach, to characterize changes in composition of the centrosome, which undergoes polarization to the immune synapse.
07:55
Imaging the Intracellular Trafficking of APP with Photoactivatable GFP
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Cited by 6 •
2015
While the transport of cell surface proteins is relatively easily studied, visualizing the trafficking of intracellular proteins is much more difficult. Here, we use constructs incorporating photoactivatable GFP and demonstrate a method to accurately follow the amyloid precursor protein from the Golgi apparatus to down-stream compartments and follow its clearance.
01:43
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
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2023
In eukaryotic cells, cytoskeletal filaments such as actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments form a mesh-like cytoskeletal network. These filaments serve as tracks for transporting cellular cargo. Specialized motor proteins use the chemical energy stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for this transport. During interphase, microtubules are polarized, with the plus-end towards the cell periphery and the minus-end towards the cell center. Two microtubule-associated motor proteins,...
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Direction depends on which cytoskeletal track and motor engage a cargo. Kinesin and dynein move membrane-bound cargo along microtubules, whereas myosin operates on actin filaments. This division allows cells to route organelles through different intracellular pathways and position them where growing, migrating, or differentiating regions require them.
Adaptor proteins connect specific cargo to appropriate molecular motors, while Rab GTPases help regulate cargo identity and delivery. Organelle-specific signals add another layer of selectivity, ensuring that transport machinery does not treat every compartment identically. Together, these components coordinate recognition, direction, and delivery rather than relying on motor activity alone.
Microtubules and actin filaments provide distinct routes for intracellular movement. Their use by different molecular motors helps organize transport through the cell and supports precise positioning of membrane-bound compartments. This track-based organization is especially important when developing or differentiating cells must distribute organelles to particular regions instead of leaving them randomly positioned.
Positioning organelles in selected cellular regions helps establish and maintain polarity, meaning that different parts of a cell acquire distinct organization and functions. During development, this spatial control supports directional growth, signaling, and migration. Proper delivery of compartments such as mitochondria, endosomes, and lysosomes therefore contributes to coordinated cell behavior and tissue formation.
Mitochondria, endosomes, lysosomes, and other organelle-derived cargoes are important targets because their distribution changes the organization and function of developing cells. Examining where these compartments move or accumulate can connect intracellular transport with cell polarity, signaling, migration, differentiation, and the formation of tissues.
Following organelle distribution in growing or migrating regions can reveal how intracellular organization supports larger developmental events. Transport supplies selected compartments to locations where polarity and signaling must be coordinated. These observations help connect molecular movement inside individual cells with the collective behaviors that shape developing tissues.
Defective trafficking can interfere with the placement and exchange of organelles, compromising cellular organization and function. In developmental systems, such disruption may affect polarity, signaling, migration, differentiation, or tissue formation. Studying these failures also provides context for neurological disease, cancer, and intracellular quality-control problems linked to trafficking defects.
The same transport system that organizes organelles during development also maintains intracellular organization in other biological contexts. When trafficking is defective, cells can lose proper cargo distribution and delivery. Developmental studies therefore provide a framework for examining how altered movement of mitochondria, endosomes, lysosomes, or related cargo contributes to neurological disease, cancer, and quality-control dysfunction.