Coated vesicle adaptors.

Every cell in the body relies on a fleet of tiny molecular bubbles—coated vesicles—to ship proteins to the right address, and HIV hijacks this system to strip its own markers from the surface of infected cells. This project aims to decode the molecular postcodes and sorting machinery that direct these vesicles. The researchers will screen thousands of random protein tails to find new sorting signals, and use genome-wide scans to identify the adaptor proteins that read them. They will also map how two key sorting pathways—AP-1 and GGA—interact, and how SNARE proteins (the docking machinery for vesicle fusion) get loaded into vesicles. If successful, the work could reveal how HIV’s Nef protein commandeers adaptors to downregulate MHC Class I and CD4, offering new targets for antiviral therapy. It may also clarify whether faulty GGA trafficking contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. This is fundamental cell biology—understanding how cells organise their internal logistics. Past discoveries in vesicle trafficking have already led to drugs for rare genetic diseases and insights into cancer metastasis.