Unravelling the inner secrets of cells with gene editing and live-cell super-resolution microscopy | Francesca Bottanelli, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry

In our laboratory, we integrate endogenous tagging with live-cell super-resolution STED microscopy to illuminate dynamic processes occurring at the nanoscale and in the unperturbed physiological environment of the cell. We have generated a comprehensive library of proteins involved in membrane homeostasis. The ability to explore endogenous cellular dynamics is revealing novel and unexplored sorting mechanisms. We have provided functional characterization of a novel sorting compartment that we named ARF1 compartment. ARF1 compartments orchestrate clathrin-dependent post-Golgi trafficking via maturing into recycling endosomes. We also study the function of microvilli as a signaling organelle and investigate how signalling molecules dynamically re-organize on membrane protrusions during chimeric antigenic receptor (CAR)–mediated activation.