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SNAREs and Membrane Fusion

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 15, 2026

SNARE-mediated Fusion of Single Proteoliposomes with Tethered Supported Bilayers in a Microfluidic Flow Cell Monitored by Polarized TIRF Microscopy

SNARE-mediated Fusion of Single Proteoliposomes with Tethered Supported Bilayers in a Microfluidic Flow Cell Monitored by Polarized TIRF Microscopy

Published on: August 24, 2016

Lipid-based mechanisms for vesicle fission.

A J Markvoort¹, A F Smeijers, K Pieterse

¹Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, TU Eindhoven, Postbus 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands. A.J.Markvoort@tue.nl

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B

|April 12, 2007

Summary

This study explores lipid vesicle fission, revealing two distinct pathways driven by lipid asymmetry. The second pathway, involving monolayer composition differences, requires less lipid variation for successful fission compared to the first.

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Last Updated: Jul 15, 2026

SNARE-mediated Fusion of Single Proteoliposomes with Tethered Supported Bilayers in a Microfluidic Flow Cell Monitored by Polarized TIRF Microscopy

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Published on: August 24, 2016

Obtention of Giant Unilamellar Hybrid Vesicles by Electroformation and Measurement of their Mechanical Properties by Micropipette Aspiration

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A Model Membrane Platform for Reconstituting Mitochondrial Membrane Dynamics

A Model Membrane Platform for Reconstituting Mitochondrial Membrane Dynamics

Published on: September 2, 2020

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Cell Biology
Materials Science

Background:

Lipid vesicles undergo shape transformations like fusion and fission, crucial for biological processes.
Understanding these topological changes is key to deciphering cellular functions and developing new biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate two distinct mechanisms of lipid vesicle fission.
Analyze the conditions required for complete fission via molecular dynamics simulations.
Compare the efficiency and outcomes of different fission pathways.

Main Methods:

Utilized molecular dynamics simulations with a coarse-grained lipid model.
Examined two primary fission routes based on membrane lipid asymmetry.
Analyzed lipid distribution and phase separation within membrane leaflets and monolayers.

Main Results:

Identified two distinct lipid vesicle fission pathways driven by membrane asymmetry.
Demonstrated that monolayer composition differences (second pathway) require less lipid variation for fission than leaflet phase separation (first pathway).
Observed significantly different lipid compositions in the resulting vesicles for each pathway.

Conclusions:

Lipid asymmetry dictates distinct vesicle fission mechanisms and outcomes.
The monolayer composition-driven pathway is more efficient, requiring subtler lipid differences for fission.
Fission and fusion processes exhibit fundamental differences in lipid vesicle dynamics.