How does the molecular motor, cytoplasmic dynein, work?
One of the long-term goals of the Reck-Peterson laboratory is to understand how the molecular motor, cytoplasmic dynein, transports cargo in cells. Cytoplasmic dynein is responsible for nearly all minus-end directed microtubule-based transport in eukaryotic cells. As such, it has essential roles in the transport of dozens of known cargo in mammalian cells, including nuclei and other organelles, mRNAs and signaling molecules. Dynein also plays a critical role in cell division. Because dynein functions in so many basic biological processes it is not surprising that mutations in dynein or dynein-associated proteins cause human disease. For example, mutations in some dynein-associated proteins cause a brain developmental defect called lissencephaly, while mutations in other dynein-associated proteins have been found in human cancers. We are interested in understanding the molecular basis of dynein’s role in these disease states. Despite these many essential functions, cytoplasmic dynein is
