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Related Concept Videos

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...
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.
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...
Tension Response at Adherens Junctions01:26

Tension Response at Adherens Junctions

The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
α-Catenin as a Mechanosensory Protein
The α-catenin of adherens junctions is an allosteric protein with three VH (vinculin homology) domains...
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...
Surface Tension01:24

Surface Tension

Surface tension is defined as the force per unit length (γ) acting along the surface of a liquid. It arises due to strong intermolecular forces of attraction. A molecule located inside the bulk of the liquid is surrounded by other molecules and experiences equal forces in all directions. However, a molecule at the surface experiences unbalanced forces because there are more neighboring molecules below than above. This creates a net inward force that pulls surface molecules toward the interior,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
06:26

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Published on: December 7, 2017

Entropic tension in crowded membranes.

Martin Lindén1, Pierre Sens, Rob Phillips

  • 1Department of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.

Plos Computational Biology
|March 23, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Membrane protein crowding alters protein function by inducing entropic tension. This impacts the gating of mechanosensitive channels, affecting cellular responses to osmotic stress.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Membrane protein dynamics
  • Statistical mechanics

Background:

  • Biological membranes contain densely packed proteins, unlike artificial models.
  • Protein crowding influences the conformational transitions of membrane proteins.
  • Crowding effects in membranes are less understood than in cytoplasm.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of membrane crowding on protein function.
  • To quantify the entropic tension induced by crowding.
  • To analyze crowding effects on bacterial mechanosensitive channel gating.

Main Methods:

  • Applied statistical mechanics of hard disk liquids.
  • Modeled excluded area interactions between membrane proteins.
  • Calculated changes in protein gating energies under crowding conditions.

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Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
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Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
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Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions

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Last Updated: May 23, 2026

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
06:26

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

Published on: December 7, 2017

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
10:02

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions

Published on: May 27, 2021

Main Results:

  • Crowding induces an entropic tension in biological membranes.
  • This tension alters the critical membrane tension for protein conformational changes.
  • Crowding can significantly modify gating energies of mechanosensitive channels.

Conclusions:

  • Membrane crowding is a crucial factor influencing membrane protein function.
  • Excluded volume interactions play a significant role in protein conformational changes.
  • Understanding crowding is essential for comprehending in vivo membrane protein behavior.