Bending membranes (original) (raw)

Nature Cell Biology volume 14, pages 906–908 (2012)Cite this article

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It is widely assumed that peripheral membrane proteins induce intracellular membrane curvature by the asymmetric insertion of a protein segment into the lipid bilayer, or by imposing shape by adhesion of a curved protein domain to the membrane surface. Two papers now provide convincing evidence challenging these views. The first shows that specific assembly of a clathrin protein scaffold, coupled to the membrane, seems to be the most prevalent mechanism for bending a lipid bilayer in a cell. The second reports that membrane crowding, driven by protein–protein interactions, can also drive membrane bending, even in the absence of any protein insertion into the bilayer.

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  1. Tom Kirchhausen is in the Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA,
    Tom Kirchhausen

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  1. Tom Kirchhausen
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Correspondence toTom Kirchhausen.

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Kirchhausen, T. Bending membranes.Nat Cell Biol 14, 906–908 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb2570

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