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Membrane trafficking

Polar express

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 9, pages 348–349 (2008)Cite this article

The establishment of epithelial cell polarity is essential for the correct physiological function of many tissues and requires the polarized distribution of plasma membrane proteins into apical and basolateral domains. To test whether clathrin might be involved in epithelial polarity, Rodriguez-Boulan and co-workers used small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to knock down clathrin expression in epithelial cells and looked at the distribution of basolateral and apical markers by confocal microscopy. Interestingly, the distribution of numerous basolateral membrane proteins was disrupted, whereas the localization of apical proteins was not affected by the treatment.

...uncovers an additional role for clathrin in intracellular trafficking and the maintenance of epithelial polarity.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Deborde, S. et al. Clathrin is a key regulator of basolateral polarity. Nature 10 April 2008 (doi: 10.1038/nature06828)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Edeling, M. A., Smith, C. & Owen, D. Life of a clathrin coat: insights from clathrin and AP structures. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 7, 32–44 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rodriguez-Boulan, E., Kreitzer, G. & Müsch, A. Organization of vesicular trafficking in epithelia. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 6, 233–247 (2005)

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Authors
  1. Francesca Cesari
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Cesari, F. Polar express. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 9, 348–349 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2400

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2400

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