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UCSB researchers discover that the cell's endosomes use a surprising transportation system
October 06, 2005Cells have developed a surprising transportation system for their endosomes, according to research published today in Physical Review Letters, "Dynamics and Spatial Organization of Endosomes in Mammalian Cells."
By marking endosomes with fluorescent tags and watching them move in live cells, Samir Mitragotri, a UCSB professor of chemical engineering, and graduate students Chinmay Pangarkar and Anh Tuan Dinh learned that the endosomes travel to the cell's nucleus using back-and-forth symmetrical movement, rather than taking a more direct route. This forward and reverse motion leads to even distribution of the endosomes on microtubules.
An aster-like layout of the microtubules helps the endosomes accumulate at the nucleus. The researchers think this non-direct approach to the nucleus has evolved to allow hundreds of endosomes to bring nutrients and molecular information to the cell's center for processing. Even if the cell moves or if there's increased traffic flow, there's never a traffic jam on the microtubules.
While it has long been known that endosomes travel in a bidirectional way, it has not previously been established that the transport system is symmetrical. The authors believe that because a number of neurological, muscular and cardiac diseases stem from the malfunctioning of one or more proteins that regulate the transport properties of endosomes or lysosomes, it may be possible to perform in silico and/or laboratory experiments to better understand the relationship between transport properties and pathology.
The delivery of many therapeutic agents, especially DNA and siRNA is dependent on endocytic transport. Understnading how endosome distribution evolves is central to such therapeutic approaches.
University of California-Santa Barbara
While it has long been known that endosomes travel in a bidirectional way, it has not previously been established that the transport system is symmetrical. The authors believe that because a number of neurological, muscular and cardiac diseases stem from the malfunctioning of one or more proteins that regulate the transport properties of endosomes or lysosomes, it may be possible to perform in silico and/or laboratory experiments to better understand the relationship between transport properties and pathology.
The delivery of many therapeutic agents, especially DNA and siRNA is dependent on endocytic transport. Understnading how endosome distribution evolves is central to such therapeutic approaches.
University of California-Santa Barbara
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A group of signaling proteins known as Wnt - which help build the human body's skin, bone, muscle and other tissues - depend on a complex delivery and recycling system to ensure their transport to tissue-building cell sites, according to a study at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Endosome-mediated signaling in plants
In a paper that will be published online in advance of its July 1st publication date, Drs. Niko Geldner, Joanne Chory and colleagues (The Salk Institute and HHMI) demonstrate that endosomes can function as signaling platforms in plants, as well as in animals.
New Down syndrome gene identified by Stanford/Packard scientists
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More Endosomes News Articles
 | Endosomes (Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit) Endosomes are a heterogeneous population of endocytic vesicles and tubules that have captivated the interest of biologists for many years, partly due to their important cellular functions and partly due to their intriguing nature and dynamics. Endosomes represent a fascinating interconnected network of thousands of vesicles that transport various cargoes, mainly proteins and lipids, to distant... |
 | Endosomes and Lysosomes: A Dynamic Relationship (Advances in Cellular and Molecular Biology of Membranes and Organelles) (Advances in Cellular and Molecular Biology of Membranes and Organelles) The intent in initiating this volume was to bring together a series of essays which would define our present understanding of the endosome and lysosome and their interrelationship. The editors deliberately encouraged the contributors to be speculative; to strive to put order to the "real" world of incomplete and sometimes conflicting data. Seeing science from the laboratory bench can often be... |
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