The word clathrin originates from the Latin word clāthrāre, meaning “to provide with a lattice”. Clathrin is a protein involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis.1 It was not discovered until 1975 by Barbara Pearse, a British biological scientist. Clathrin is a protein resembling a triskelion shape and is composed of three heavy chains and three light chains which come together to form a polyhedral lattice similar to a cage. The three heavy chains resemble three legs protruding from a center point. Some of the major functions of clathrin include lysosomal targeting, receptor-mediated endocytosis, and organelle biogenesis from the trans-Golgi network.3 The polyhedral lattice shape of clathrin largely determines its functionality, in that there are many binding sites for proteins on the heavy chains of the lattice as well.4
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Structural highlights
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