Gray Fox Lung Fibroblast Cells Expressing mEGFP-EB3

Microtubules transport vesicles, organelles, and macromolecular complexes throughout the cell. Distribution is regulated by motor proteins that ferry, for example, secretory vesicles for export from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane. Mitochondria are also transported back and forth through the cytoplasm by microtubules, while nerve cells use the network to translocate vesicles containing neurotransmitters along their axon tips. Motor proteins “burn” adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to fuel transport along the microtubules. By altering their three-dimensional conformation, motor proteins move along the microtubule filament by releasing one portion of the filament and gripping another site farther along the structure. In the digital videos presented above, normal Gray fox lung fibroblast cells (FoLu line) are expressing monomeric enhanced green fluorescent protein (mEGFP) fused to the microtubule end-binding protein, EB3.