Endocytic sorting of transmembrane protein cargo.

Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Dept of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK. btk1000@cam.ac.uk

Current opinion in cell biology 2011 Aug

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The accurate distribution and recycling of transmembrane proteins amongst the membrane-bound organelles of the cell is vital to ensure its correct functioning. Transmembrane protein cargo destined for clathrin-mediated endocytosis and transport along the endocytic pathway is sorted into transport vesicles by interactions with adaptors, which simultaneously link clathrin to the membrane. Clathrin adaptors recognize a variety of signals present in the cytoplasmic portions of cargo proteins; recent structural, biophysical and cell biological studies have elucidated new types of cargo-adaptor interactions and probed the molecular mechanisms regulating cargo selection and vesicle maturation. Here, we review this recent progress in the context of our existing knowledge of endocytic sorting mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.