Functional properties of Rab15 effector protein in endocytic recycling

Receptor recycling has emerged as an important regulatory mechanism for cell surface composition, pathogen invasion, and for control over the intensity and duration of receptor signaling in multiple cell types. In the case of the transferrin receptor, receptor recycling is an important step for facilitating iron uptake into the cell, by regulating the availability of the receptor at the cell surface. Following internalization into clathrin-coated pits, the transferrin receptor first enters peripheral sorting endosomes. Here, internalized transferrin receptor is either sorted for recycling back to the cell surface directly, or targeted to a slower route of recycling through a perinuclear population of endosomes termed the endocytic recycling compartment. This chapter describes methodologies to examine the fast and slow modes of transferrin receptor recycling, with a particular emphasis on the function of the novel protein Rab15 effector protein.