What is it about?
Tiny Kinesin-1 molecular motors transport vesicles containing essential cellular resources along the cell's dense and complex 3-dimensional microtubule highway. Despite the importance of this most basic process, how kinesin-1s maneuver their intracellular cargoes through the numerous microtubule intersections towards their destination is still a mystery. Therefore, we developed a model that mimics this important intracellular transport system on a microscope glass slide, challenging kinesin-1s to transport vesicle-like liposomes through 3-dimensional microtubule intersections as these molecular motors would encounter inside cells on their way to their destination for delivery.
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Why is it important?
Intracellular cargoes that are transported and delivered by kinesin-1 molecular motors, such as insulin granules, are critical for normal cellular and human health.
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This page is a summary of: Kinesin-1-transported liposomes prefer to go straight in 3D microtubule intersections by a mechanism shared by other molecular motors, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2407330121.
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