Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Visualizing Intracellular SNARE Trafficking by Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy
Published on: December 29, 2017
'Should I stay or should I go?': myosin V function in organelle trafficking
Claire Desnos1, Sébastien Huet, François Darchen
1Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UPR 1929, Université Paris 7 Denis Diderot, Paris, France. claire.desnos@ibpc.fr
Abstract:
Actin- and microtubule-based motors can propel different cargos along filaments. Within cells, they control the distribution of membrane-bound compartments by performing complementary tasks. Organelles make long journeys along microtubules, with class V myosins ensuring their capture and their dispersal in actin-rich regions. Myosin Va is recruited on to diverse organelles, such as melanosomes and secretory vesicles, by a mechanism involving Rab GTPases. The role of myosin Va in the recruitment of secretory vesicles at the plasma membrane reveals that the cortical actin network cannot merely be seen as a physical barrier hindering vesicle access to release sites. In neurons, myosin Va controls the targeting of IP(3) (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate)-sensitive Ca(2+) stores to dendritic spines and the transport of mRNAs. These defects probably account for the severe neurological symptoms observed in Griscelli syndrome due to mutations in the MYO5A gene.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Myosin in Cell Migration
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction. It is...
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
Overview of Myosin Structure and Function
Microtubule Associated Motor Proteins
Overview of Protein Sorting and Transport
Protein sorting can be of two types: signal-based sorting and vesicle-based trafficking. In signal-based sorting, specific amino acid sequences called sorting signals target proteins to the proper location inside the cell either via gated transport or by protein translocation. In gated transport, folded...
Directing Proteins to the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum

