Morphological changes of plasma membrane and protein assembly during clathrin-mediated endocytosis

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) proceeds through a series of morphological changes of the plasma membrane induced by a number of protein components. Although the spatiotemporal assembly of these proteins has been elucidated by fluorescence-based techniques, the protein-induced morphological changes of the plasma membrane have not been fully clarified in living cells. Here we visualize membrane morphology together with protein localizations during CME by utilizing high-speed atomic force microscopy combined with a confocal laser scanning unit. The plasma membrane starts to invaginate ~30 seconds after clathrin starts to assemble, and the aperture diameter increases as clathrin accumulates. Actin rapidly accumulates around the pit and induces a small membrane swelling, which within 30 seconds rapidly covers the pit irreversibly. Inhibition of actin turnover abolishes the swelling and induces a reversible open-close motion of the pit, indicating that actin dynamics are necessary for efficient and irreversible pit closure at the end of the CME.