Cells relax their membrane to control protein sorting
Monday, August 3, 2020 - 10:00
in Biology & Nature
The tension in the outer membrane of cells plays an important role in a number of biological processes. A localized drop in tension, for example, makes it easier for the surface bend inward and form invaginations that will become free vesicles inside the cell. These are delimited by a membrane that contains all proteins originally present in the invaginations. A fundamental function of these so-called endosomes is to sort proteins to their cellular destination, e.g., reuse or degradation. Are the functions of endosomes modulated by variations in tension?