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Related Concept Videos

Cell Motility through Blebbing01:16

Cell Motility through Blebbing

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Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
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Types of Membrane Protrusions01:28

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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.
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Cell division and enlargement are processes that require precise control. The control ensures that cell division cannot proceed unless the cell has grown to a specific size. A spherical, dividing cell requires an approximately 1.6X increase in its surface area to double its volume. The secretory pathway also has a significant role in cell membrane enlargement. Secretory vesicles that bud off from the Golgi apparatus and later fuse with the plasma membrane during exocytosis are a major source of...
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Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation01:31

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Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...
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Membrane Fluidity01:26

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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
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Membrane Fluidity01:23

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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.
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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Biomembrane Fabrication by the Solvent-assisted Lipid Bilayer SALB Method
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Bleb Nucleation through Membrane Peeling.

Ricard Alert1, Jaume Casademunt1

  • 1Departament d'Estructura i Constituents de la Matèria, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.

Physical Review Letters
|February 27, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cell bleb nucleation is driven by membrane peeling, not just detachment energy. This mechanism predicts faster nucleation rates and critical radii, offering new insights into cell protrusion dynamics.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Mechanobiology

Background:

  • Blebs are cellular protrusions formed by membrane detachment from the cell cortex.
  • Understanding bleb nucleation is crucial for cell mechanics and dynamics.
  • Current models may not fully capture the kinetics of bleb formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the fundamental mechanism governing cell bleb nucleation.
  • To model the role of membrane-cortex interactions in bleb formation.
  • To predict nucleation rates and critical radii using a novel biophysical model.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a simplified model of elastic linkers with force-dependent kinetics.
  • Analyzed membrane peeling as the governing mechanism for bleb nucleation.
  • Employed continuum stochastic simulations of membrane-cortex adhesion.

Main Results:

  • Bleb nucleation is primarily governed by membrane peeling, irrespective of detachment energy.
  • Predicted critical nucleation radius and effective energy barrier for membrane peeling.
  • Simulations revealed nucleation times dependent on membrane stress, consistent with the peeling model.

Conclusions:

  • Membrane peeling is a key determinant of bleb nucleation dynamics.
  • The proposed mechanism suggests significantly faster nucleation than classical theories.
  • This work reframes the understanding of bleb nucleation and suggests new research avenues.