clathrin

[ klath-rin ]

noun

, Cell Biology.

1. a basketlike network of protein molecules that forms on the cell membrane in response to the attachment of ligands to receptors and becomes the inside surface of the coated vesicle during endocytosis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of clathrin¹

Probably clathr(ate) + -in ²

Example Sentences

If clathrin pathways go wrong, the result can be cancer, nervous system defects, developmental defects or infectious diseases; some microbes can hijack clathrin pathways to enter cells.

From Scientific American

In humans there are two clathrin types.

From Scientific American

The original form of the gene that encoded CHC22, which first evolved around 450 million years ago, produced a clathrin that held the glucose transporter tightly inside muscle and fat.

From Scientific American

Her group, which has studied clathrins for many years, found the mutability of CHC22 quite surprising since the more common CHC17 clathrin is highly invariant and is present in all so-called eukaryotic organisms from yeast to humans.

From Scientific American

LRRK2 has been specifically implicated in the presynaptic regulation of endophilin A1, which facilitates endocytosis through clathrin uncoating at the synaptic terminal98.

From Nature