Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Membrane fusion: stalk model revisited.

Vladislav S Markin1, Joseph P Albanesi

  • 1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA. vladislav.markin@utsouthwestern.edu

Biophysical Journal
|January 25, 2002
PubMed
Summary

This study corrects the stalk shape in membrane fusion models, finding negative energy that facilitates the process. These findings impact our understanding of membrane fusion and lipid phase transitions.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Fluorescence Intensity of Protein Tags Is Dependent on Their Subcellular Location.

Cells·2026
Same author

Regulation of actin dynamics by phosphoinositides: Focus on postsynaptic plasticity.

Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular and cell biology of lipids·2026
Same author

Effect of Pathogenic Mutations on the Formation of High-Order Dynamin 2 Assemblies in Living Cells.

Biochemistry·2024
Same author

Identification of the GABARAP binding determinant in PI4K2A.

Bioscience reports·2024
Same author

Analysis of Arc/Arg3.1 Oligomerization In Vitro and in Living Cells.

International journal of molecular sciences·2024
Same author

Mimicking Protein Kinase C Phosphorylation Inhibits Arc/Arg3.1 Palmitoylation and Its Interaction with Nucleic Acids.

International journal of molecular sciences·2024

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Membrane fusion is crucial for cellular processes.
  • It is thought to involve intermediate stalk structures.
  • Previous models predicted unrealistically high energies for stalks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To recalculate the stalk shape in membrane fusion.
  • To determine the stalk's elastic energy more accurately.
  • To analyze the implications for membrane fusion and lipid behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Mathematical analysis of the stalk's geometry.
  • Abandoning the assumption of a circular arc figure of revolution.
  • Calculating the stress-free shape and energy of the stalk.

Main Results:

  • The corrected stalk shape can be stress-free.
  • The stalk's elastic energy can be negative, not positive and high.
  • Energies for hemifusion, complete fusion, and pore formation were re-evaluated.

Conclusions:

  • The revised stalk model facilitates membrane fusion.
  • Negative stalk energy aids the fusion process.
  • Findings offer new insights into membrane fusion mechanisms and lipid phase transitions.

Related Experiment Videos