Vesicle and Membrane Trafficking in Neural, Sensory, and Secretory Systems: From Molecular Mechanisms to Disease

Vesicle and membrane trafficking are central to the specialized functions of neural, sensory, and secretory cells, underlying essential processes such as synaptic transmission, sensory signal transduction, and hormone, peptide and enzyme secretion. These functions depend on highly coordinated steps of vesicle budding, maturation, transport, tethering, docking, fusion and fission events. These processes are governed by Rab GTPases, SNARE proteins, coat proteins, motor proteins, cytoskeleton and associated regulatory factors that coordinate communication among intracellular organelles––including the ER, Golgi, endosomes, and lysosomes and the plasma membrane. Recent advances in live-cell imaging, super-resolution imaging, EM structural analysis, molecular and genetic approaches have revealed unprecedented insight into the dynamics of organization and regulation of these trafficking pathways. These studies revealed that trafficking pathways are highly adaptable and finely tuned to distinct physiological demands in a cell-type-specific manner. However, fundamental questions remain regarding how trafficking fidelity is established and maintained, how trafficking pathways are remodeled in response to physiological and stress cues, and how their disruption contributes to cellular dysfunction and disease.This Research Topic aims to gather original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that advance our understanding of vesicle and membrane trafficking in neural, sensory, and secretory systems, from fundamental molecular mechanisms to disease relevance. We welcome multidisciplinary contributions using genetic, imaging, molecular, biochemical, and computational approaches to dissect how trafficking machinery shapes cell-type-specific function and how its dysregulation contributes to pathology. Studies linking trafficking defects to neurodegenerative, sensory, endocrine and secretory disorders are particularly encouraged. By bringing together complementary perspectives across molecular, cellular, physiological, and disease-oriented research, this Research Topic seeks to advance our understanding of how membrane trafficking supports cellular function and how its failure contributes to pathology.Areas to be covered may include, but are not limited to:• Molecular mechanisms of vesicle budding, transport, tethering, fusion and endocytosis • Synaptic neurotransmitter release, vesicle cycling, and synaptic plasticity• Trafficking pathways in sensory neurons and sensory organ function• Regulated and constitutive secretory pathway and endocytic retrieval pathway • Organelle contacts and dynamics (ER, Golgi, endosomes, lysosomes, autolysosomes) in neural and secretory cells; Novel mechanisms linking trafficking and cellular signaling. • Trafficking defects in neurodegenerative, sensory, secretory and metabolic diseases• Emerging approaches for visualizing, modeling, and quantitatively dissecting vesicle and membrane trafficking in living cells and tissues Topic editors: Xuelin Lou, Steven J. Fliesler, Dusanka Danielle Deretic Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85133/vesicle-and-membrane-trafficking-in-neural-sensory-and-secretory-systems-from-molecular-mechanisms-to-disease