PICALM, also known as the clathrin assembly lymphoid myeloid leukemia (CALM) protein, co-localizes with clathrin at clathrin-coated areas of the plasma membrane and in the Golgi area, and is thought to be an important component of the coated pit internalization machinery. Fusion proteins involving PICALM have been implicated in acute myeloid and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PICALM is also expressed in neurons and is present at the synapse where it facilitates the endocytosis of the synaptic vesicle protein VAMP2. Recent studies have identified variants of PICALM associated with Alzheimer's disease and have suggested this protein may play a role in the endocytosis and recycling of the amyloid protein precursor (APP).