Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Visualizing Clathrin-mediated Endocytosis of G Protein-coupled Receptors at Single-event Resolution via TIRF Microscopy
Published on: October 20, 2014
Dynamin-dependent vesicle twist at the final stage of clathrin-mediated endocytosis
Xiaodong Cheng1,2, Kuangcai Chen1, Bin Dong1
1Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Abstract:
Dynamin has an important role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis by cutting the neck of nascent vesicles from the cell membrane. Here, using gold nanorods as cargos to image dynamin action during live clathrin-mediated endocytosis, we show that, near the peak of dynamin accumulation, the cargo-containing vesicles always exhibit abrupt, right-handed rotations that finish in a short time (~0.28 s). The large and quick twist, herein named the super twist, is the result of the coordinated dynamin helix action upon GTP hydrolysis. After the super twist, the rotational freedom of the vesicle increases substantially, accompanied by simultaneous or delayed translational movement, indicating that it detaches from the cell membrane. These observations suggest that dynamin-mediated scission involves a large torque generated by the coordinated actions of multiple dynamins in the helix, which is the main driving force for vesicle scission.
Related Concept Videos
Pinching-off of Coated Vesicles
Clathrin Coated Vesicles
Vesicular Tubular Clusters
With the help of motor proteins such...
The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
Rab Cascades

