Fig. 2.

Common techniques to investigate membrane trafficking, stem cell differentiation and cell surface mechanics. Centre: methods applicable to all three processes and useful to elucidate their reciprocal relationships. a) Pulse-chase approaches, b) uptake assay of fluorescent dextran (green) and lipophilic dye (red), c) pHluorin, d) cargo release from the ER by the temperature-sensitive VSVGtsO45, e) RUSH system to retain cargo in the ER or Golgi until released through biotin. f) Cell morphology, g) flow cytometry analysis of lineage-specific reporters, h) transcriptomics analysis, i) functional test e.g. electrophysiology. j) Optical tweezer, k) cell stretcher, l) tension probe FliptR, m) fluidity measurement by FRAP, n) micropipette aspiration, o) atomic force spectroscopy, p) hyper-/hypo-osmotic shock. Not drawn to scale.