clathrin

American

[klath-rin] / ˈklæθ rɪn /

noun

Cell Biology.

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.

Etymology

Origin of clathrin

Probably clathr(ate) + -in ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They summon important clathrin proteins to the site where the virus is attached.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2025

There are very few images of empty clathrin cages in the literature, she adds.

From Science Daily • Dec. 3, 2024

In preparation for phagocytosis, a portion of the inward-facing surface of the plasma membrane becomes coated with a protein called clathrin, which stabilizes this section of the membrane.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

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

From Nature • Nov. 8, 2016

He says animations help him picture how a particular three-legged protein called clathrin functions within the cell.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023