Functions in an early step of clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Has both a membrane binding/bending activity and the ability to recruit proteins essential to the formation of functional clathrin-coated pits. Has a lipid-binding activity with a preference for membranes enriched in phosphatidylserine and phosphoinositides (Pi(4,5) biphosphate) like the plasma membrane. Its membrane-bending activity might be important for the subsequent action of clathrin and adaptors in the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles. Involved in adaptor protein complex AP- 2-dependent endocytosis of the transferin receptor, it also functions in the AP-2-independent endocytosis of the LDL receptor.
Traub: "A nanobody-based molecular toolkit provides new mechanistic insight into clathrin-coat initiation." in: eLife, Vol. 8, (2019) (PubMed).
Sochacki, Dickey, Strub, Taraska: "Endocytic proteins are partitioned at the edge of the clathrin lattice in mammalian cells." in: Nature cell biology, Vol. 19, Issue 4, pp. 352-361, (2017) (PubMed).