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Coping with the inevitable: how cells repair a torn surface membrane
1Department of Cellular Biology and Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912, USA. pmcneil@mail.mcg.edu
Nature Cell Biology
|May 2, 2001
Summary
Cell plasma membrane disruptions are repaired by a calcium-triggered emergency response called resealing. This process involves vesicle fusion and cytoskeletal support, representing a primitive survival adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Cell plasma membrane damage occurs in mechanically stressful biological settings.
- Cell survival depends on a rapid repair mechanism known as resealing.
- Resealing is initiated by calcium ion influx through the membrane disruption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanisms of cell plasma membrane resealing.
- To understand the role of calcium and vesicle fusion in membrane repair.
- To explore the evolutionary origins of the resealing process.
Main Methods:
- Observation of calcium-triggered vesicle fusion (homotypic and heterotypic) at the disruption site.
- Analysis of cytoskeletal involvement in supporting membrane fusion events.
- Comparative analysis to infer evolutionary origins of resealing.
Main Results:
- Calcium influx triggers rapid fusion of underlying cytoplasmic vesicles.
- Vesicle fusion with the plasma membrane (heterotypic) and with each other (homotypic) repairs membrane damage.
- Homotypic fusion products form a patch for significant membrane replacement.
- Local cytoskeleton activation supports membrane fusion and repair.
Conclusions:
- Cell membrane resealing is a complex, dynamic process crucial for survival.
- Resealing involves calcium-mediated vesicle fusion and cytoskeletal assistance.
- This repair mechanism may be an evolutionarily ancient adaptation, possibly arising after the loss of the cell wall in ancestral eukaryotes.