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Biophys. J. BioFAST: First Published February 10, 2006. doi:10.1529/biophysj.105.068742
© 2006 by the Biophysical Society.

A more recent version of this article appeared on May 1, 2006.
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CELL BIOPHYSICS

Measuring the Elasticity of Clathrin Coated Vesicles via Atomic Force Microscopy

Albert J. Jin 1, Kondury Prasad 2, Paul D Smith 1, Eileen M. Lafer 2 and Ralph J Nossal 3*

1 DBEPS/ORS/OD/National Institutes of Health
2 University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
3 LIMB/NICHD/National Institutes of Health

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nossalr{at}mail.nih.gov.

Submitted on June 14, 2005
Revised on August 12, 2005
Accepted on 25 January 2006


  Abstract
Using a new scheme based on atomic force microscopy (AFM), we investigate mechanical properties of clathrin coated vesicles (CCVs). CCVs are multi-component protein and lipid complexes of ca.100 nm diameter that are implicated in many essential cell trafficking processes. Our AFM imaging resolves clathrin lattice polygons and provides height deformation in quantitative response to AFM-substrate compression force. We model CCVs as multilayered elastic spherical shells and, from AFM measurements, estimate their bending rigidity to be 285 ± 30 kBT, i.e. about 20 times that of either the outer clathrin cage or inner vesicle membrane. Further analysis reveals a flexible coupling between the clathrin coat and the membrane, a structural property whose modulation may affect vesicle biogenesis and cellular function.

Key Words: Biological AFM, Cellular Trafficking, Clathrin Coated Vesicles, Membrane Permeability, Nanomechanics, Structural Energetics




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Influence of Synapsin I on Synaptic Vesicles: An Analysis by Force-Volume Mode of the Atomic Force Microscope and Dynamic Light Scattering
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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Copyright © 2006 by the Biophysical Society.