The intracellular trafficking pathway of transferrin.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Transferrin (Tf) is an iron-binding protein that facilitates iron-uptake in cells. Iron-loaded Tf first binds to the Tf receptor (TfR) and enters the cell through clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Inside the cell, Tf is trafficked to early endosomes, delivers iron, and then is subsequently directed to recycling endosomes to be taken back to the cell surface.

Scope of review

We aim to review the various methods and techniques that researchers have employed for elucidating the Tf trafficking pathway and the cell-machinery components involved. These experimental methods can be categorized as microscopy, radioactivity, and surface plasmon resonance (SPR).

Major conclusions

Qualitative experiments, such as total internal reflectance fluorescence (TIRF), electron, l

SUBMITTER: Mayle KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3288267 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature