Kinetic analysis of secretory protein traffic and characterization of Golgi to plasma membrane transport intermediates in living cells

Quantitative time-lapsed imaging data of single cells expressing the transmembrane protein, vesicular stomatitis virus ts045 G protein fused to green fluorescent protein (VSVG-GFP), were utilized for kinetic modeling of protein traffic through the different compartments of the secretory pathway. A series of first order rate laws was able to accurately represent VSVG-GFP transport and allowed the calculation of compartment residence times and rate constants for movement into and out of the Golgi complex and delivery to the plasma membrane.