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Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 5, 317–323 (1 April 2004) | doi:10.1038/nrm1360

The biogenesis of multivesicular endosomes

Jean Gruenberg & Harald Stenmark

Recent progress has been made in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the biogenesis of multivesicular transport intermediates in the degradation pathway that leads to lysosomes. Here, we discuss recent work that uncovers some of the mechanisms that cause both membrane invagination within these newly forming intermediates and the detachment of these intermediates from early endosomal membranes.