Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Cargo Loading onto Kinesin Powered Molecular Shuttles
Published on: November 3, 2010
Viral strategies for intracellular trafficking: motors and microtubules
Philip L Leopold1, K Kevin Pfister
1Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, USA. pleopold@med.cornell.edu
Abstract:
To overcome barriers to diffusion, many viruses utilize the microtubule-associated molecular motor cytoplasmic dynein 1 to drive transport towards the nucleus of a target cell. Cytoplasmic dynein 1 generates movement towards the minus end of microtubules located at the microtubule organizing centre (MTOC), a structure that is typically in close proximity to the nucleus. Physiological cargoes for cytoplasmic dynein include membranous organelles, protein complexes and aggregates of misfolded protein. In this review, we discuss the study of microtubule-based translocation of viruses and raise questions about the mechanisms for association with and then dissociation from cytoplasmic dynein with a goal of understanding whether viruses are seen by the intracellular trafficking machinery as functional protein complexes or misfolded protein aggregates.
Related Concept Videos
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins
Microtubules in Cell Motility
Microtubules in Cell Motility
Introduction to Membrane Traffic
The transport of soluble and membrane proteins is mediated by transport vesicles that collect cargo from one cellular compartment and deliver it to another by fusing with the target organelle membrane. The Rab...
Clathrin Coated Vesicles
