New measures call theories about endocytosis into question
Cellular biology still harbors mysteries. Notably, there is no unequivocal explanation behind endocytosis, the biological process that allows exchanges between a cell and its environment. Two hypotheses prevail for explaining how the wall caves in and forms transport vesicles: either the initial impetus is due to a scaffold-like structure which the soccer ball-shaped clathrin proteins build between themselves, or clathrin's role is minor, and it is other, «adaptor" proteins who exert pressure on the cell wall until endocytosis begins. One recently completed study by the Faculty of Science at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) reconciles the two theories, suggesting a balance between forces present: clathrin proteins are only slightly more influential than the others, and it is a clever combination of physical mechanisms that contributes to creating favorable conditions for the deformation of the membrane. These conclusions captured the interest of the editors of Nature Communications, who just published them.