Seminars are open to all visitors and start Monday at 16:00 sharp. Coffee and tea will be served from 15:45. The seminar series lectures are in a colloquiumzaal at the third floor (entrance level) of the Faculty building of Erasmus MC.
Kristen Verhey
Road signs for kinesin motor transport
| 2009-11-02 | Room: Leopold Erasmiaans |
Abstract A major question in cell biology is how the organization of the cell is maintained both spatially and temporally. Proper functioning of eukaryotic cells depends on the correct localization of lipids, proteins, signaling complexes and organelles. While this is true in all cells, it is crucial in polarized calls such as epithelia and neurons as well as during development. Cargo molecules are moved from place to place within the cell along the main cytoskeletal filaments, actin and microtubules. Motor proteins use the energy of ATP hydrolysis to ferry cargo along actin or microtubule tracks and thus orchestrate diverse cellular events such as organelle and vesicle transport, signal transduction, RNA localization, cell motility, chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. The overall goal of the lab is to determine how motor proteins are directed to their vesicular cargo for transport to the correct location in the cell. Our work has focused on the microtubule-based motor protein conventional kinesin. We aim to answer questions such as: What is the cargo(es) of kinesin? What are the cellular roles of kinesin and its cargo(es) during development and normal cell growth? How does kinesin bind to its cargo in the cell body and release its cargo in the axon terminal? How is the motor activated for motility upon loading of cargo and inactivated when it reaches its destination? Is the motor recycled or degraded at the end of its journey? To address these questions, we are using a variety of techniques in molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, cell culture and microscopy.