Endocytosis And Exocytosis, Volume 4 (biomembranes. A Multi-volume Treatise)

Volume 4 of Biomembranes covers endocytosis, exocytosis and related processes. A major role of the plasma membrane is as a permeability barrier, keeping the inside of the cell inside and the outside, outside. Mechanisms must then exist to allow movement of material between the cell and its environment. One mechanism for export from the cell is by exocytosis, a process in which the membranes of secretory vesicles fuse with the plasma membrane releasing the contents of the vesicle into the extracellular medium. The process has been studied in particular depth for the release of neurotransmitters at the synapse. Import into the cell is possible by the process of receptor-mediated endocytosis in which selected plasma membrane proteins are internalizes; when these proteins are receptors for macromolecules, the result is uptake of the macromolecule. Transferring, the low-density lipoprotein, and asialoglycoproteins are all taken up into cells in this way. Phagocytosis, the ingestion of cells and cell fragments by neutrophils and macrophages, also involves receptors - on the phagocytic membrane - of which the best studied are those for the Fc domain of IgG, for the third component of complement, and for the mannose/fructose carbohydrates. Protection of a host against infection can also be achieved by damaging the integrity of the plasma membrane of the invading organism. This is the strategy evolved by the cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which produce a pore-forming toxin, perforin. Volume 4 of Biomembranes explores the structures and mechanisms involved in these biologically and medically important processes. Content: List of contributors Pages vii-ix Preface Pages xi-xii A.G. Lee Receptor-mediated endocytosis Review Article Pages 1-32 A.P. Jackson, H.D. Blackbourn, S.F.C. Hawkins, M.J.G. Hughes Phagocytosis Review Article Pages 33-63 Eric J. Brown, Thomas H. Steinberg Annexin hypothesis for exocytosis Review Article Pages 65-74 A. Lee Burns, Harvey B. Pollard Small synaptic vesicles Review Article Pages 75-122 Nandini V.L. Hayes, Anthony J. Baines Membrane attack by complement: Assembly and biology of terminal complement complexes Review Article Pages 123-149 Moon L. Shin, Horea G. Rus, Florin I. Niculescu Cell membrane damage in lymphocyte-mediated cytolysis: Role of lymphocyte pore-forming protein perforin Review Article Pages 151-173 Chau-Ching Liu, John Ding-E Young, Pedro M. Persechini, M. Fatima Horta The asialoglycoprotein receptor Review Article Pages 175-199 Christian Fuhrer, Martin Spiess The low density lipoprotein receptor Review Article Pages 201-221 Adrian Ozinsky, Deneys R. van der Westhuyzen, Gerhard A. Coetzee Mannose-6-phosphate receptors Review Article Pages 223-253 Regina Pohlmann The transferrin receptor Review Article Pages 255-287 Caroline A. Enns, Elizabeth A. Rutledge, Anthony M. Williams Index Pages 289-294 v. 1. Structure and assembly. v. 2. Role in cell physiology. v. 3. Cytoskeleton in specialized tissues and in pathological states. Receptor-mediated endocytosis is a mechanism used by cells for the internalization of selected plasma membrane proteins.