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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 140, Number 3, February 9, 1998 659-674
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Tokyo, Japan, 113
Newly synthesized membrane proteins are
transported by fast axonal flow to their targets such as
the plasma membrane and synaptic vesicles. However,
their transporting vesicles have not yet been identified.
We have successfully visualized the transporting vesicles of plasma membrane proteins, synaptic vesicle proteins, and the trans-Golgi network residual proteins in
living axons at high resolution using laser scan microscopy of green fluorescent protein-tagged proteins after
photobleaching. We found that all of these proteins are
transported by tubulovesicular organelles of various
sizes and shapes that circulate within axons from
branch to branch and switch the direction of movement. These organelles are distinct from the endosomal
compartments and constitute a new entity of membrane organelles that mediate the transport of newly
synthesized proteins from the trans-Golgi network to
the plasma membrane.
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