Vesicle Trafficking as a Mechanism to Sense and Respond to Nanofiber Architecture

摘要

Active Racl has been shown to localize along nanofibers of <100 nm in diameter, giving strength to Vogel's hypothesis that nanofiber diameter is a means to control intracellular signaling via vesicle trafficking proteins. These proteins, specifically clathrin, were shown to localize along the fibers. Further testing with smaller nanofibers may demonstrate localization of the other vesicle proteins to the nanofibers. The active and total Rac 1 immunoprecipitation protocol needs to be optimized to attain quantifiable results. With these quantitative measurements of Racl levels, Vogel's hypothesis may be fully supported.