Intracellular dynamics of ricin followed by fluorescence microscopy on living cells reveals a rapid accumulation of the dimeric toxin in the Golgi apparatus

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Abstract
The intracellular dynamics of fluorescent conjugates of the toxic lectin ricin was followed by video fluorescence microscopy on living CHO cells, demonstrating that the ricin heterodimer and its isolated B chain, after binding to the plasma membrane receptors, migrate to and accumulate in the Golgi apparatus following internalization. A ricin derivative labelled with fluorescein on the A chain and rhodamine on the B chain did not display significant splitting of the A‐B heterodimer during translocation of the toxin to the Golgi; this novel finding provides support for the hypothesis that further processing of ricin takes place in this cellular compartment.