Dynamics and function of early endsomes

组织内细胞的行为受其环境控制。细胞接收的最重要的信号是循环的小蛋白质，称为生长因子。它们与细胞表面的特定受体结合。生长因子的结合导致受体改变其与细胞内控制细胞生长的许多分子的相互作用模式。以这种方式，生长因子受体作为细胞外部和内部之间的重要桥梁，以刺激细胞生长、细胞分裂和细胞迁移，即所谓的促有丝分裂反应。为了防止不受控制的促有丝分裂激活，这将对组织有害，细胞必须确保仔细调整反应的强度，并且在短时间后关闭反应。这种控制是通过从细胞表面去除激活的受体并将其发送到细胞内的一系列专门的隔室来实现的，在那里它的活性可以被密切调节，并且最终可以被降解。受体通过这些隔室的转移伴随着这些隔室的高度复杂的运动，因为它们开始在彼此之间转移受体。所有这些运动都是由称为马达蛋白的专门细胞蛋白决定的，每个马达蛋白都被设计成以特定的方向和速度在细胞周围移动特定的隔间。该项目旨在揭示哪些马达蛋白移动哪些隔间，以及运动如何与生长因子受体的转移协调。了解这种复杂的行为将是重要的，因为这种运动和转移的缺陷与一系列疾病有关。

The behaviour of cells within a tissue is controlled by their environment. Amongst the most important signals that cells receive are in the form of circulating small proteins called growth factors. These bind to specific receptors that are found on the surface of cells. Binding of growth factors causes the receptors to alter their pattern of interactions with many molecules inside the cell that control cell growth. In this way growth factor receptors act as essential bridges between the cell exterior and interior to stimulate cell growth, cell division and cell migration, so-called mitogenic responses. To prevent uncontrolled mitogenic activation, which would be harmful to the tissue, the cell must make sure the strength of the response is carefully adjusted, and that the response is switched off after a short time. Such control is achieved by removing the activated receptor from the cell surface and sending it through a series of specialised compartments within the cell, where its activity can be closely regulated and where it can eventually be degraded. Transfer of the receptor through these compartments is accompanied by highly complicated movements of these compartments, as they set about transferring the receptor between each other. All of these movements are determined by specialised cellular proteins called motor proteins, each of which are designed to move particular compartments around the cell with characteristic directions and speeds. This project seeks to unravel which motor proteins move which compartments, and how movement is coordinated with the transfer of growth factor receptor. Understanding such complex behaviour will be important, since defects in this movement and transfer are linked to a range of diseases.