Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2025

Imaging Cell Membrane Injury and Subcellular Processes Involved in Repair
Published on: March 24, 2014
The ESCRT Machinery: Remodeling, Repairing, and Sealing Membranes
1Department of Cell Biology, School of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
The ESCRT machinery is an evolutionarily conserved membrane remodeling complex that is used by the cell to perform reverse membrane scission in essential processes like protein degradation, cell division, and release of enveloped retroviruses. ESCRT-III, together with the AAA ATPase VPS4, harbors the main remodeling and scission function of the ESCRT machinery, whereas early-acting ESCRTs mainly contribute to protein sorting and ESCRT-III recruitment through association with upstream targeting factors. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie membrane constriction and scission by ESCRT-III and describe the involvement of this machinery in the sealing and repairing of damaged cellular membranes, a key function to preserve cellular viability and organellar function.
Related Concept Videos
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Protein Translocation Machinery on the ER Membrane
Sec61 protein conducting channel
In eukaryotes, the translocon complex comprises a core heterotrimeric translocator channel called the Sec61 complex. This channel includes three transmembrane proteins, Sec61α, Sec61β, and Sec61γ, and is the largest subunit of the...
The Endoplasmic Reticulum
Enlargement of the Plasma Membrane

