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Related Concept Videos

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...
Types of Membrane Protrusions01:28

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...
Adhesion01:14

Adhesion

Adhesion occurs when one type of molecule is attracted to a different molecule. Water exhibits adhesive properties in the presence of polar surfaces, such as glass or cellulose in plants. For instance, when water is poured into a glass, the positively charged hydrogen molecules of water are more attracted to the negatively charged oxygen molecules in the silica than to the oxygen in neighboring water molecules.
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow glass...
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
Adherens Junctions01:24

Adherens Junctions

Strong contact points between adjacent cells anchor them to each other, forming tissues. Such anchoring junctions are of two types –  adherens junctions and desmosomes. Adherens junctions are abundant in tissues such as  epithelium and endothelium, forming a continuous zone of adhesion called the adhesion belt. In other tissues, such as  heart muscle, they appear as clusters, linking the cells to produce coordinated heart muscle contraction.
Adherens Junctions are Dynamic
The endothelial cells...
Membrane Domains01:18

Membrane Domains

The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other critical cellular processes. These domains can differ in size, composition, function, and lifespan.
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the anterior...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface
13:22

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface

Published on: November 2, 2011

Depletion versus deflection: how membrane bending can influence adhesion.

Jin Nam1, Maria M Santore

  • 1Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 01003, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|September 10, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Membrane stiffness affects vesicle adhesion. Stiff membranes resist spreading due to bending resistance, while flexible membranes allow partial engulfment, consistent with adhesion energy models.

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Last Updated: May 29, 2026

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface
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Published on: November 2, 2011

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
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Analyzing Cell Surface Adhesion Remodeling in Response to Mechanical Tension Using Magnetic Beads
07:55

Analyzing Cell Surface Adhesion Remodeling in Response to Mechanical Tension Using Magnetic Beads

Published on: March 8, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Vesicle adhesion is crucial for cellular processes.
  • Membrane mechanics, including stiffness and tension, influence adhesion dynamics.
  • Understanding vesicle interactions is key to cellular function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of membrane stiffness in depletion-driven vesicle adhesion.
  • To determine how membrane bending resistance affects vesicle spreading and engulfment.
  • To compare experimental observations with theoretical energy estimates.

Main Methods:

  • Studied vesicle adhesion under depletion-driven conditions.
  • Varied membrane stiffness to observe effects on spreading.
  • Measured contact angles and spreading behavior.
  • Estimated bending energy costs and adhesion energies.

Main Results:

  • Stiff membranes exhibited limited spreading due to high bending resistance, preventing contact angle equilibrium.
  • Flexible membranes showed partial engulfment of opposing vesicles.
  • Calculated bending energy costs correlated with observed spreading behaviors for both stiff and flexible membranes.
  • A time lag preceding spreading was observed and predicted by the models.

Conclusions:

  • Membrane stiffness is a critical determinant of vesicle adhesion morphology.
  • Bending resistance significantly impacts the ability of vesicles to spread and adhere.
  • Adhesion energy models accurately predict spreading behavior based on membrane mechanics.