Abstract: Abstract Clathrin-coated vesicles are the shuttle containers within cells. The vesicles carry lipids and proteins between membrane-bound compartments. Clathrin forms a cage-like structure around the membrane-bound vesicle that is pinched off from the plasma membrane (in endocytosis) or a membranous component of the cytoplasm. Clathrin recruits cargo that is within a vesicle through intermediary proteins known as adaptors that help select membrane-anchored protein and form an interface between the clathrin cage and the membrane bilayer.