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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...

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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

Programmed bending reveals dynamic mechanochemical coupling in supported lipid bilayers.

Sean F Gilmore¹, Harika Nanduri, Atul N Parikh

¹Department of Applied Science, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.

|January 5, 2012

Summary

Mechanochemical coupling in cell membranes can be mimicked in vitro. Real-time substrate wrinkling induces lipid domain reorganization in bilayers, revealing new insights into membrane dynamics.

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Biomembrane Fabrication by the Solvent-assisted Lipid Bilayer (SALB) Method

Biomembrane Fabrication by the Solvent-assisted Lipid Bilayer (SALB) Method

Published on: December 1, 2015

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Materials Science
Cell Biology

Background:

Cellular membranes exhibit mechanochemical coupling, organizing components via lipid domain localization.
Bacterial polar lipid domains dynamically reequilibrate with environmental changes, like during sporulation.

Purpose of the Study:

To recapitulate interfacially-triggered mechanochemical coupling in vitro.
To investigate dynamic lipid domain reorganization induced by mechanical forces in supported lipid bilayers.

Main Methods:

Utilizing supported lipid bilayers on elastomeric substrates.
Introducing simultaneous, real-time periodic curvatures and strain-induced lateral forces.
Observing domain reorganization during substrate wrinkling.

Main Results:

Real-time wrinkling of elastomeric substrates prompted dynamic domain reorganization in adhering lipid bilayers.
Large, oriented liquid-ordered domains formed in regions of low curvature.
Interfacial forces and topographical deformation drove bilayer reequilibration and domain reorganization.

Conclusions:

A novel in vitro model system successfully recapitulates curvature-dependent mechanochemical coupling.
This system provides a versatile tool for studying dynamic membrane reorganizations under interfacial constraints.
Findings offer insights into mechanisms governing membrane organization in cellular environments.