{"id":1550,"date":"2017-01-09T09:36:25","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T09:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/?p=1550"},"modified":"2017-01-09T09:36:25","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T09:36:25","slug":"research-seminar-measuring-the-mechanics-of-the-clathrin-cage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/2017\/01\/09\/research-seminar-measuring-the-mechanics-of-the-clathrin-cage\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Seminar: Measuring the mechanics of the clathrin cage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Iwan Schaap, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesday 17th January 2017, 1.00 p.m., Stacey Lecture Theatre 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A major route to take up molecules into cells is via Clathrin-mediated-endocytosis. Clathrin proteins self-assemble into curved lattices that interact with cellular membrane to induce their curvature. This eventually leads to the invagination of ~100 nm small Clathrin coated vesicles containing the molecules. Although Clathrin-mediated-endocytosis is a clear example of a mechanically driven biological process, remarkably little is known about the mechanics of clathrin lattices. We used atomic force microscopy and finite element analysis to investigate the nano-mechanical properties of single clathrin cages. We found that they are surprisingly soft with a stiffness of just ~0.03 N\/m, an order of magnitude lower than that of viruses but comparable to the membrane vesicle that they enclose. This low stiffness, which can be modulated by regulatory proteins, suggest a delicate balance between cage and membrane mechanics rather than a rigid cage that simply imposes its curvature onto the membrane.<\/p>\n