Clathrin adaptors really adapt.
The clathrin pathway is the principal route for receptor-mediated endocytosis and growth factor downregulation. Heterotetrameric clathrin adaptors directly link the clathrin coat with cargo transmembrane proteins that are sorted into coated pits and vesicles. A paper in this issue of Cell describes the atomic structure of the adaptor-protein 2 (AP-2) core, the portion that makes contacts with the membrane and cytosolic tails of cargo proteins.
Kirchhausen
Tom
T
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School and The Center for Blood Research, Boston, MA 02115, USA. kirchhausen@xta1200.harvard.edu
D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport; D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002966:Clathrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000502:physiology*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
D033942:Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D002966:Clathrin; D008565:Membrane Proteins