Poster abstracts
Poster number 6 submitted by Nathan Willy
Clathrin mediated endocytosis is an indicator of membrane tension in spreading and migrating cells
Nathan M. Willy, Josh Ferguson (Physics)
Abstract:
Clathrin mediated endocytosis (CME) is a process by which receptor-bound macromolecules are internalized by pinching off areas of the plasma membrane. The dynamics of CME can be observed by tracking the formation and dissolution of clathrin coated structures via fluorescence imaging of tagged clathrin coat components. Since the process of CME involves deforming the plasma membrane, its dynamics are tied to the local membrane tension. We present data showing the relationship between clathrin dynamics and various naturally occurring cell behavior such as spreading onto a substrate and migration. It is our hope that observation of CME dynamics can be used as a proxy measurement for membrane tension with spatial and temporal specificity where direct measurement is invasive, cumbersome and limited to a single location.
Keywords: Clathrin, Plasma Membrane, Tension