Secretory Membrane Trafficking, Sorting, Compartmentaliz

细胞器生物学部分研究了真核细胞内分泌膜运输、分选和区隔化的总体原理。绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）融合蛋白的活细胞成像结合光漂白和光激活技术被用于研究各种蛋白的亚细胞定位、迁移、运输途径和结合相互作用，这些蛋白在膜运输和区隔化的组织和调节中起重要作用。这些蛋白质特性的定量测量用于动力学建模和模拟实验，以测试与蛋白质和细胞器动力学相关的机制假设。目前正在研究的课题包括：哺乳动物细胞和发育中的果蝇胚胎的内质网（ER）和高尔基体形态的生长和维持；分泌蛋白进出高尔基体的转运机制；转运机制的膜结合/解离动力学及其调控细胞极性的产生和维持；有丝分裂过程中细胞器的分解和重组。我们最近还开发了一种可光激活的绿色荧光蛋白，其光激活机制目前正在研究中。

The Section on Organelle Biology investigates the global principles underlying secretory membrane trafficking, sorting and compartmentalization within eukaryotic cells. Live cell imaging of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins in combination with photobleaching and photoactivation techniques are being used to investigate the subcellular localization, mobility, transport routes and binding interactions of a variety of proteins with important roles in the organization and regulation of membrane traffic and compartmentalization. Quantitative measurements of these protein characteristics are used in kinetic modeling and simulation experiments in order to test mechanistic hypotheses related to protein and organelle dynamics. Among the topics currently under study include: growth and maintenance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi morphology in mammalian cells and in developing Drosophila embryos; the mechanism(s) of secretory protein transport into and out of the Golgi apparatus; membrane binding/dissociation kinetics of trafficking machinery and its regulation; the generation and maintenance of cell polarity; and, organelle breakdown and reassembly during mitosis. We have also recently developed a photoactivatable GFP, whose mechanism of photoactivation is currently being investigated.