Deformation of giant unilamellar vesicles under osmotic stress

Biological membrane plays an important role in maintaining an osmotic equilibrium between the cytoplasm and the extracellular solution of cells. Here, the giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) as cell models were used to investigate the effect of osmotic stress on phospholipid membranes. The deformation of GUVs, including inward budding and outward budding, was systematically investigated by the osmotic press from glucose, sucrose, LiCl, and KCl solutions. The permeability (P) of DMPC, DMPC/10 mol% Chol GUVs, DMPC/25 mol% Chol GUVs, and DMPC/40 mol% Chol GUVs in glucose, sucrose, LiCl, and KCl solutions were all obtained. The P value decreases with the addition of more cholesterol in the bilayer. The monovalent cations caused higher permeability of lipid bilayer membranes due to their combination with phospholipids. The molar flux of water (J) value was found to be the key factor for determining the deformation state from mainly inward budding to mainly outward budding. The findings in this paper may help us to understand cell transformation triggered with osmotic stress.