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The mechanism of receptor‐mediated endocytosis: More questions than answers
Author(s) -
Schmid Sandra L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.950140903
Subject(s) - endocytosis , internalization , receptor mediated endocytosis , clathrin , microbiology and biotechnology , receptor , vesicle , mechanism (biology) , biology , chemistry , biochemistry , membrane , philosophy , epistemology
Receptor‐mediated endocytosis occurs via clathrin‐coated pits and is therefore coupled to the dynamic cycle of assembly and disassembly of the coat constituents. These coat proteins comprise part, but certainly not all, of the machinery involved in the recognition of membrane receptors and their selective packaging into transport vesicles for internalization. Despite considerable knowledge about the biochemistry of coated vesicles and purified coat proteins, little is known about the mechanisms of coated pit assembly, receptor‐sorting and coated vesicle formation. Cell‐free assays which faithfully reconstitute these events provide powerful new tools with which to elucidate the overall mechanism of receptor‐mediated endocytosis.