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Related Concept Videos

Endocytosis01:16

Endocytosis

9.5K
Eukaryotic cells acquire nutrients for growth and proliferation. Nutrients and other molecules that require degradation are internalized from the extracellular space by a process called endocytosis. The term ‘endocytosis' was first coined by Christian de Duve in 1963.
Endocytosis always begins with the plasma membrane enclosing an incoming molecule to form a transport vesicle which, in some cases, can be coated with a protein called ‘clathrin.' Endocytosed material is either...
9.5K
Pinocytosis00:38

Pinocytosis

3.3K
Cells use energy-requiring bulk transport mechanisms to transfer large particles or large numbers of small particles into or out of the cell. The cells envelop the particles in spherical membranes called vesicles or vacuoles. Vesicles that transport material into the cell are built from the cell membrane. These vesicles encapsulate external molecules and transport them into the cell in a process called endocytosis.
Pinocytosis ("cellular drinking") is one of three main types of...
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Phagocytosis00:41

Phagocytosis

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Cells pull particles inward and engulf them in spherical vesicles in an energy-requiring process called endocytosis. Phagocytosis (“cellular eating”) is one of three major types of endocytosis. Cells use phagocytosis to take in large objects—such as other cells (or their debris), bacteria, and even viruses.
81.8K
Receptor-mediated Endocytosis01:20

Receptor-mediated Endocytosis

6.2K
Receptor-mediated endocytosis is when bulk amounts of specific molecules are imported into a cell after binding to cell surface receptors. The molecules bound to these receptors are taken into the cell through inward folding of the cell surface membrane, which is eventually pinched off into a vesicle within the cell. Structural proteins, such as clathrin, coat the budding vesicle.
Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis of LDL
One well-characterized example of receptor-mediated endocytosis is the...
6.2K
Clathrin Coated Vesicles01:12

Clathrin Coated Vesicles

7.1K
Clathrin-coated vesicles use endocytosis to transport receptors and lysosomal hydrolases from the Golgi to the lysosome in the late secretory pathway. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was the first described endocytic process, and Clathrin-coated vesicles remain one of the most well-studied transport vesicles. The molecular machinery that generates clathrin-coated vesicles comprises over 50 proteins that precisely coordinate vesicle formation. Cell surface receptors concentrated in indented sites...
7.1K
Maturation of Endosomes01:28

Maturation of Endosomes

4.3K
The early endosome containing internalized molecules matures through transformations in its location, morphology, intraluminal pH, and membrane protein composition. Together, these changes result in a more acidic late endosome that contains multiple intraluminal vesicles; therefore, the late endosome is also called a multivesicular body (MVB).
Changes in location
The maturing endosome moves along microtubules from the periphery of the cell towards the perinuclear region. This movement of the...
4.3K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 29, 2025

Applications of pHluorin for Quantitative, Kinetic and High-throughput Analysis of Endocytosis in Budding Yeast
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Applications of pHluorin for Quantitative, Kinetic and High-throughput Analysis of Endocytosis in Budding Yeast

Published on: October 23, 2016

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Passive endocytosis in model protocells.

Stephanie J Zhang1,2, Lauren A Lowe3,4,5, Palapuravan Anees6

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|May 19, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Primitive cells may have used passive endocytosis to rapidly absorb large molecules before protein transporters evolved. This process allowed nutrient uptake and slow release, aiding early life development.

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Area of Science:

  • Origin of life studies
  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Semipermeable membranes are essential for all life.
  • Early cells lacked efficient nutrient import mechanisms.
  • Specialized transporters evolved later to overcome membrane impermeability.

Approach:

  • Experiments and simulations were used to model primitive cells.
  • A passive endocytosis-like process was recreated.
  • Molecule uptake and release dynamics were analyzed.

Key Points:

  • Passive endocytosis enables rapid uptake of impermeable molecules in vesicles.
  • Internalized molecules are released slowly over hours.
  • This mechanism bypasses the need for protein transporters.

Conclusions:

  • Passive endocytosis offers a plausible mechanism for nutrient acquisition in early life.
  • This process predates the evolution of protein transporters.
  • It demonstrates a way primitive cells could overcome passive permeation limitations.