Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 7, 2026

Analysis of Endocytic Uptake and Retrograde Transport to the Trans-Golgi Network Using Functionalized Nanobodies in Cultured Cells
Published on: February 21, 2019
Tubulovesicular processes emerge from trans-Golgi cisternae, extend along microtubules, and interlink adjacent
M S Cooper1, A H Cornell-Bell, A Chernjavsky
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
Abstract:
Morphological dynamics and membrane transport within the living Golgi apparatus of astrocytes labeled with NBD-ceramide were imaged using both electronically enhanced fluorescence video and laser confocal microscopy. In time-lapse recordings, continuous tubulovesicular processes are observed to emerge from trans-Golgi elements and extend along microtubules at average rates of 0.4 microns/s. In addition, discrete fluorescent particles are observed to emerge from the trans-Golgi and subsequently migrate along microtubules at comparable velocities. Frequently, tubulovesicular processes form stable connections that interlink adjacent trans-Golgi elements into an extensive reticulum. Laser photobleaching-recovery experiments reveal that tubulovesicular processes can provide direct pathways for the diffusion of membrane lipids between joined trans-Golgi elements. These results suggest that microtubule-based transport and membrane fusion can operate to interconnect certain cisternal membranes of adjacent Golgi elements within the cell.
Related Concept Videos
Golgi Apparatus
Vesicular Tubular Clusters
With the help of motor proteins such...
Transport Across the Golgi
Golgi Apparatus
The Golgi apparatus is a eukaryotic organelle that has a distinctive ribbon-like appearance. It is a primary sorting and dispatch station for cargo arriving from the ER. Newly arriving vesicles enter the cis face of the Golgi, closest to the ER, and are...
The Endoplasmic Reticulum
Golgi Matrix Proteins
One of the first identified Golgi matrix proteins was GM130, a rod-like protein located in the cis-Golgi. Subsequently, many Golgi...

