Bacterial toxins and small molecules elucidate endosomal trafficking.

Bacterial toxins and small molecules are useful tools for studying eukaryotic cell biology. In a recent issue of PNAS, Gillespie and colleagues describe a novel small molecule inhibitor of bacterial toxins and virus trafficking through the endocytic pathway, 4-bromobenzaldehyde N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)semicarbazone (EGA), that prevents transport from early to late endosomes.