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Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending01:15

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

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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.
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Vesicle budding is orchestrated by distinct cytosolic proteins such as adaptor proteins, coat proteins, and GTPases. To initiate vesicle budding, membrane-bending proteins containing crescent-shaped BAR domains bind to the lipid heads in the bilayer and distort the membrane to form a protein-coated vesicle bud. Adaptors proteins such as AP2 for clathrin-coated vesicles can nucleate on the deformed membrane. Finally, coat proteins such as clathrin or COPI and COPII assemble into a coat forming...
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Biological membranes show uneven distribution of different types of lipids in the inner and outer layers, resulting in transverse asymmetric membranes. The treatment of the erythrocyte membrane with the enzyme phospholipase confirmed the asymmetric nature of the lipid bilayer. The enzyme hydrolyzes lipids into fatty acids and hydrophilic groups. The phospholipase acts only on the outer layer of the membrane, while the inner layer remains intact. The phospholipase treatment resulted in 80%...
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Scientists identified the plasma membrane in the 1890s and its principal chemical components (lipids and proteins) by 1915. The model for plasma membrane structure, proposed in 1935 by Hugh Davson and James Danielli, was the first model to be widely accepted in the scientific community. The model was based on the plasma membrane's "railroad track" appearance in early electron micrographs. Davson and Danielli theorized that the plasma membrane's structure resembled a sandwich...
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Membrane Domains01:18

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The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other critical cellular processes. These domains can differ in size, composition, function, and lifespan.
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Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
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Modulated and spiral surface patterns on deformable lipid vesicles.

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  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

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Summary
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This study explores how lipid bilayer vesicles transition between uniform and patterned phases. Complex spiral surface patterns emerge due to differing mechanical properties, revealing a rich phase diagram for these spherical systems.

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Area of Science:

  • Soft matter physics
  • Biophysics
  • Materials science

Background:

  • Two-dimensional systems with spherical topology exhibit phase transitions.
  • Lipid bilayer vesicles model cellular membranes and can separate into liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered phases.
  • Phase separation in vesicles leads to complex spatial patterns beyond simple domain configurations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate the behavior of two-dimensional systems with spherical topology and order-parameter-dependent mechanical properties.
  • Analyze the interplay between phase coexistence, vesicle shape, and mechanical properties.
  • Map the phase diagram of these systems, including novel spiral patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical investigation of systems with spherical topology.
  • Modeling multicomponent lipid bilayer vesicles.
  • Analysis of phase transitions and surface morphology.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated a coupling between vesicle shape and local composition due to differing bending rigidities.
  • Identified a rich phase diagram including homogeneous, separated, and axisymmetric modulated phases.
  • Revealed regions of spiral patterns in surface morphology arising from phase coexistence.

Conclusions:

  • The interplay of mechanical properties and phase separation in lipid vesicles leads to complex morphologies.
  • A detailed phase diagram elucidates the transitions between different spatial patterns.
  • Spiral surface patterns represent a novel outcome of phase coexistence in spherical systems.