Interaction of cargo proteins with the AP-1 core in the absence or presence of Arf1∆1-16-Q71L was analyzed using a previously described pull-down assay (Guo et al., 2013 (link); Ren et al., 2013 (link)). In brief, MBP-tagged cargo protein (20 μg) immobilized on amylose resin (New England Biolabs, Beverly, MA) was incubated with 0.05 μM AP-1 core precleared on amylose resin in the absence or presence of 10 μM Arf1∆1-16-Q71L and 1 mM GTP. The pull down was analyzed by SDS–PAGE, followed by immunoblotting.