Epsin

Epsins are the family of membrane proteins that are important in creating the needed membrane curvature. Epsins contribute to various needed membrane deformations like endocytosis and block vesicle formation during mitosis. Epsins has many different domains to interact with various proteins related to endocytosis. At its N-terminus is an ENTH domain situated that binds Phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate what means it binds a lipid of biological membranes. Further this is a possible site for cargo-binding. In the middle of the epsin sequence are two UIM's (ubiquitin-interacting motifs) located. The C-terminus contains multiple binding sites, for example for clathrin and AP2 adaptors. Because of that Epsins are able to bind to a membrane with an specific cargo and connect it with the endocytosis machinery, so you may understand Epsin as something like a Swiss army knife for endocytosis.They may be the major membrane curvature driving proteins in many clathrin-coated vesicle budding events.

External links

* [http://www.endocytosis.org/epsin/epsin.htm Endocytosis.org entry on epsin]

Publications

* Horvath CA,Vanden Broeck D, Boulet GA, Bogers J, De Wolf MJ.(2007) Epsin: Inducing membrane curvature. Int J Biochem Cell Biol (ahead of print) [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17276129&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum pubmed]
*Chen H, Fre S, Slepnev VI, Capua MR, Takei K, Butler MH, Di Fiore PP, De Camilli P. (1998) Epsin is an EH-domain-binding protein implicated in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Nature. 394, 793-7. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=9723620&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_DocSum pubmed]