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Related Concept Videos

SNAREs and Membrane Fusion01:43

SNAREs and Membrane Fusion

Once a transport vesicle has recognized its target organelle, the vesicular membrane needs to fuse with the target membrane to unload the cargo. Transmembrane proteins called SNAREs present on organelle membranes and their vesicles, mediate vesicle fusion.
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
Membrane Fluidity01:23

Membrane Fluidity

Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.Fatty acids tails of phospholipids can be either saturated or...
Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...
Mechanisms of Membrane-bending01:15

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation00:59

Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation

Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Fluid Mosaic Model01:19

Fluid Mosaic Model

Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane structure, proposed in 1935 by Hugh Davson and James Danielli, was the first model to be widely accepted in the scientific community. The model was based on the plasma membrane's "railroad track" appearance in early electron micrographs. Davson and Danielli theorized that the plasma membrane's structure resembled a sandwich with the analogy of...

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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
10:58

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

Persistent voids: a new structural metric for membrane fusion.

Peter M Kasson1, Afra Zomorodian, Sanghyun Park

  • 1Medical Scientist Training Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. kasson@cmgm.stanford-edu

Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)
|May 10, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Persistent voids analysis reveals rapid vesicle fusion mechanisms. This method measures structural changes, predicting that small hemifusion diaphragms drive fast fusion, unlike expanded ones which form intermediates.

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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
10:58

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Published on: August 24, 2016

A Model Membrane Platform for Reconstituting Mitochondrial Membrane Dynamics
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Obtention of Giant Unilamellar Hybrid Vesicles by Electroformation and Measurement of their Mechanical Properties by Micropipette Aspiration
09:29

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Published on: January 19, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Computational Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Membrane fusion is crucial for cellular processes like neurotransmission and viral infection.
  • Existing experimental methods lack the resolution to detail early fusion events.
  • Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to model lipid vesicle fusion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Introduce a novel method, persistent voids, to measure vesicle fusion geometry.
  • Analyze structural changes and topological transitions during lipid vesicle fusion.
  • Investigate the relationship between hemifusion neck dynamics and fusion pore formation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized molecular dynamics simulations of small lipid vesicle fusion.
  • Developed and applied the persistent voids calculation to assess fusion stalk widths.
  • Quantified dynamic relationships between hemifusion neck widening and fusion pore creation.

Main Results:

  • Persistent voids provide a systematic measurement of structural changes in vesicle fusion.
  • Demonstrated dynamic coupling between hemifusion neck expansion and full fusion pore formation.
  • Identified a rapid fusion mechanism involving a small hemifusion diaphragm, contrasting with intermediates formed by expanded diaphragms.

Conclusions:

  • Persistent voids offer a generalizable technique for analyzing lipid topological changes.
  • Rapid vesicle fusion is driven by a coordinated process of hemifusion neck expansion and pore formation.
  • The formation of metastable hemifused intermediates is linked to isolated enlargement of the hemifusion diaphragm.