Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

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...

Types of Membrane Protrusions

Types of Membrane Protrusions

The protrusion of the cell surface is an initial step for several cellular processes, including cell migration, phagocytosis, and neurite outgrowth. These membrane protrusions are a result of cytoskeletal rearrangement. The most widely observed cell protrusions include lamellipodia, pseudopodia, filopodia, microvilli, invadopodia, and podosomes. These protrusions can be of two types — static or dynamic.
The microvilli, an example of stable protrusions, are finger-like projections with a...

Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation

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...

Membrane Fluidity

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...

Membrane Fluidity

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...

Fluid Mosaic Model

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Intra-annual density fluctuations in tree rings are proxies of air temperature across Europe.

Scientific reports·2023

Same author

A mathematical model of fibrinogen-mediated erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion.

Communications biology·2023

Same author

The dynamics of shapes of vesicle membranes with time dependent spontaneous curvature.

PloS one·2020

Same author

Front microrheology of the non-Newtonian behaviour of blood: scaling theory of erythrocyte aggregation by aging.

Soft matter·2017

Same author

Correction: Tumor Angiogenesis and Vascular Patterning: A Mathematical Model.

PloS one·2016

Same author

Phase-field modelling of the dynamics of Z-ring formation in liposomes: Onset of constriction and coarsening.

The European physical journal. E, Soft matter·2015

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Published on: December 7, 2017

Model for curvature-driven pearling instability in membranes.

F Campelo¹, A Hernández-Machado

¹Departament d'Estructura i Constituents de la Matèria, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona Diagonal 647, E-08028, Barcelona, Spain. campelo@ecm.ub.es

Physical Review Letters

|October 13, 2007

Summary

This study presents a phase-field model to simulate membrane instabilities. The model successfully replicates experimental results of polymer-induced pearling, showing shape transitions based on anchor concentration.

More Related Videos

A Nanobar-Supported Lipid Bilayer System for the Study of Membrane Curvature Sensing Proteins in vitro

A Nanobar-Supported Lipid Bilayer System for the Study of Membrane Curvature Sensing Proteins in vitro

Published on: November 30, 2022

Reconstitution of Septin Assembly at Membranes to Study Biophysical Properties and Functions

Reconstitution of Septin Assembly at Membranes to Study Biophysical Properties and Functions

Published on: July 28, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Published on: December 7, 2017

A Nanobar-Supported Lipid Bilayer System for the Study of Membrane Curvature Sensing Proteins in vitro

A Nanobar-Supported Lipid Bilayer System for the Study of Membrane Curvature Sensing Proteins in vitro

Published on: November 30, 2022

Reconstitution of Septin Assembly at Membranes to Study Biophysical Properties and Functions

Reconstitution of Septin Assembly at Membranes to Study Biophysical Properties and Functions

Published on: July 28, 2022

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Materials Science
Computational Modeling

Background:

Membrane dynamics are crucial in biological processes.
Amphiphilic polymers can induce morphological changes in lipid bilayers.
Understanding these instabilities is key to cell function and drug delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and apply a phase-field model for dynamic membrane instabilities.
To investigate curvature-driven pearling instability in vesicles.
To analyze the effect of polymer anchor concentration on membrane morphology.

Main Methods:

Development of a phase-field model for membrane dynamics.
Simulation of vesicles with anchored amphiphilic polymers.
Analysis of morphological changes and energy landscapes.

Main Results:

The model reproduces experimentally observed pearling instabilities.
Homogeneous pearled structures form from cylindrical tubes.
High anchor concentrations favor inhomogeneous structures over homogeneous ones.

Conclusions:

The phase-field model is effective for studying membrane pearling.
Membrane morphology is sensitive to the concentration of anchored polymers.
Energetics dictate the transition from homogeneous to inhomogeneous pearled structures.