Over the next several months, we are going to be selecting key terms or informational write-ups and working to make them more accessible to families. Have a term, concept, or paragraph that you would like to understand better? Please send it to us at info@cltcgene.org
Excerpt:
Clathrin is a protein that plays a major role in the formation of coated vesicles. Clathrin was first isolated and named by Barbara Pearse in 1976.[1] It forms a triskelion shape composed of three clathrin heavy chains and three light chains. When the triskelia interact they form a polyhedral lattice that surrounds the vesicle, hence the protein's name, which is derived from the Latinclathrum meaning lattice. Coat-proteins, like clathrin, are used to build small vesicles in order to transport molecules within cells.
Explanation:
Clathrin protein plays an important role in moving proteins within (intracellular trafficking) and between (extracellular trafficking) cells. Cells contain compartments to perform specific functions. These compartments are called organelles and they are separated from each other by a membrane made up of lipids and proteins. Proteins and other large molecules move from one organelle to another in shuttles called vesicles. This process is called intracellular trafficking.
Proteins and other large molecules also need to move from one cell to another. In many cases there are specific receptors on the outside of a cell membrane onto which a protein or large molecule docks. This docking triggers the coating of clathrin along the inside of the cell membrane that causes the membrane, along with the receptor and attached protein/molecule to start folding inward forming what is known as a clathrin-coated pit that eventually pinches off the membrane, taking the receptor and protein with it.
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