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Updated: May 18, 2026

Biomembrane Fabrication by the Solvent-assisted Lipid Bilayer (SALB) Method
Published on: December 1, 2015
Cholesterol mediates membrane curvature during fusion events
Andrey Ivankin1, Ivan Kuzmenko, David Gidalevitz
1Department of Physics and Center for Molecular Study of Condensed Soft Matter (μCoSM), Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois 60616, USA.
Abstract:
Biomembranes undergo extensive shape changes as they perform vital cellular functions. The mechanisms by which lipids and proteins control membrane curvature remain unclear. We use x-ray reflectivity, grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, and epifluorescence microscopy to study binding of HIV-1 glycoprotein gp41's membrane-bending domain to DPPC/cholesterol monolayers of various compositions at the air-liquid interface. The results offer a new insight into how membrane curvature could be regulated by cholesterol during fusion of the viral lipid envelope and the host cell membranes.
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