Regulation of dynein ‐dynactin‐driven vesicular transport

Most of the long‐range intracellular movements of vesicles, organelles and other cargoes are driven by microtubule (MT)‐based molecular motors. Cytoplasmic dynein, a multisubunit protein complex, with the aid of dynactin, drives transport of a wide variety of cargoes towards the minus end of MTs. In this article, I review our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying spatiotemporal regulation of dynein‐dynactin‐driven vesicular transport with a special emphasis on the many steps of directional movement along MT tracks. These include the recruitment of dynein to MT plus ends, the activation and processivity of dynein, and cargo recognition and release by the motor complex at the target membrane. Furthermore, I summarize the most recent findings about the fine control mechanisms for intracellular transport via the interaction between the dynein‐dynactin motor complex and its vesicular cargoes.

In a typical mammalian cell, the minus ends of microtubules (MTs) (−) are located within the MT‐organizing center (MTOC) adjacent to the nucleus, and the plus ends (+) point towards the cell periphery. The dynein‐dynactin motor complex moves along the MT track and drives transport of a wide variety of vesicular cargoes towards the minus ends of MTs. This review focuses on the process and regulation of dynein‐dynactin‐driven vesicular transport.

Source: Traffic - March 28, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Jia ‐Jia Liu Tags: REVIEW Source Type: research