Morphological and topological transformation of membrane vesicles

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Cell Biology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Liposomes mimic biological membranes and are crucial for cellular activities.
• Cytoskeleton proteins like tubulin and actin regulate cell shape and dynamics.
• Understanding membrane vesicle topological transformations is key to cellular processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create artificial cell-like structures using liposomes and cytoskeleton proteins.
• To investigate dynamic morphological and topological transformations of liposomes.
• To visualize novel membrane vesicle dynamics in real-time.

Main Methods:

• Encapsulation of tubulin or actin cytoskeleton subunits within liposomes.
• Induction of mechanical forces via protein polymerization to alter liposome shape.
• High-intensity dark-field light microscopy for real-time visualization of dynamic processes.

Main Results:

• Spherical liposomes transformed into bipolar or cell-like shapes driven by microtubule polymerization.
• Actin polymerization resulted in disk- or dumbbell-shaped liposomes.
• Observed novel topological transformations including liposome opening and direct expulsion of inner vesicles.

Conclusions:

• Liposomes with encapsulated cytoskeleton proteins can form artificial cell-like structures with dynamic morphologies.
• The study provides real-time visualization of novel liposome topological transformations.
• This approach offers insights into the mechanisms of membrane vesicle dynamics relevant to cellular processes.