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Cell biology

On the endocytosis rollercoaster

Nature volume 517, pages 446–447 (2015)Cite this article

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Endocytosis is a process by which molecules gain access to a cell. An unusual mode of endocytosis has now been shown to regulate cell signalling, and to be highjacked by bacterial toxins. See Article p.460 & Letter p.493

The plasma membrane that surrounds cells forms a barrier that gates access to the cell, permitting entry to nutrients and extracellular messenger molecules, but locking out hazardous compounds and deadly viruses1. Clathrin protein coats some regions of this membrane, and controls cellular entry of beneficial molecules through a process called clathrin-mediated endocytosis1. Cells are also thought to use clathrin-independent modes of endocytosis2, but these have proved difficult to pinpoint. In this issue, Boucrot et al.3 (page 460) describe a fast, clathrin-independent pathway for the import of activated receptor proteins. In a separate study, Renard et al.4 (page 493) show that this pathway is hijacked by toxins from bacteria of the genera Shigella or Vibrio (which causes cholera), to allow them to gain entry to the cell.

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Figure 1: Mechanisms of endocytosis.

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  1. Volker Haucke is at the Leibniz Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, 13125 Berlin, Germany.,

    Volker Haucke

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  1. Volker Haucke
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Correspondence to Volker Haucke.

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Haucke, V. On the endocytosis rollercoaster. Nature 517, 446–447 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14081

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