Dynamin Functions and Ligands: Classical Mechanisms Behind

Abstract

Dynamin is a GTPase that plays a vital role in clathrin-dependent endocytosis and other vesicular trafficking processes by acting as a pair of molecular scissors for newly formed vesicles originating from the plasma membrane. Dynamins and related proteins are important components for the cleavage of clathrin-coated vesicles, phagosomes, and mitochondria. These proteins help in organelle division, viral resistance, and mitochondrial fusion/fission. Dysfunction and mutations in dynamin have been implicated in the pathophysiology of various disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, heart failure, schizophrenia, epilepsy, cancer, dominant optic atrophy, osteoporosis, and Down’s syndrome. This review is an attempt to illustrate the dynamin-related mechanisms involved in the above-mentioned disorders and to help medicinal chemists to design novel dynamin ligands, which could be useful in the treatment of dynamin-related disorders.