Molecular structure, function, and dynamics of clathrin-mediated membrane traffic.
Clathrin is a molecular scaffold for vesicular uptake of cargo at the plasma membrane, where its assembly into cage-like lattices underlies the clathrin-coated pits of classical endocytosis. This review describes the structures of clathrin, major cargo adaptors, and other proteins that participate in forming a clathrin-coated pit, loading its contents, pinching off the membrane as a lattice-enclosed vesicle, and recycling the components. It integrates as much of the structural information as possible at the time of writing into a sketch of the principal steps in coated-pit and coated-vesicle formation.
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School/PCMM, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
Tom
T
Kirchhausen
David
D
Owen
Stephen C
SC
Harrison
D000199:Actins / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D034021:Auxilins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D001692:Biological Transport; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D002966:Clathrin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D003034:Coated Pits, Cell-Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D034281:Dynamins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans
D000199:Actins; D034021:Auxilins; D002966:Clathrin; D034281:Dynamins