Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Cell biology

On the endocytosis rollercoaster

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

Subjects

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Mechanisms of endocytosis.

References

  1. Doherty, G. J. & McMahon, H. T. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 78, 857–902 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Howes, M. T., Mayor, S. & Parton, R. G. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol. 22, 519–527 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Boucrot, E. et al. Nature 517, 460–465 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Renard, H.-F. et al. Nature 517, 493–496 (2015).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Römer, W. et al. Cell 140, 540–553 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Lamaze, C. et al. Mol. Cell 7, 661–671 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Milosevic, I. et al. Neuron 72, 587–601 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Tang, Y. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96, 12559–12564 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Soubeyran, P., Kowanetz, K., Szymkiewicz, I., Langdon, W. Y. & Dikic, I. Nature 416, 183–187 (2002).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Petrelli, A. et al. Nature 416, 187–190 (2002).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Kononenko, N. L. et al. Neuron 82, 981–988 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bitsikas, V., Correa, I. R. & Nichols, B. J. eLife 3, e03970 (2014); http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Posor, Y. et al. Nature 499, 233–237 (2013).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Volker Haucke

Authors
  1. Volker Haucke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Volker Haucke.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

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

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14081

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing