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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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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.
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Surface tension is a fundamental property of fluids, occurring at the boundary between a liquid and a gas or between two immiscible liquids. This phenomenon arises from the cohesive forces between molecules at the fluid's surface, creating an effect similar to a stretched elastic membrane. Inside each fluid, molecules are equally attracted in all directions by neighboring molecules, but surface molecules experience a net inward force, resulting in surface tension.
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The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
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In animal cells, the extracellular matrix allows cells within tissues to withstand external stresses and transmits signals from the outside of the cell to the inside. The extracellular matrix is extensive, and its composition varies between different types of tissues. For example, the reticular fibers and ground substance make up the ECM in loose connective tissue, while collagen and bone minerals make up the ECM of bone tissue. 
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Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
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Membrane tension.

Pei-Chuan Chao1, Frederick Sachs2

  • 1Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, United States.

Current Topics in Membranes
|December 4, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cell membrane tension, crucial for cell functions, is regulated by the lipid bilayer, cytoskeleton, and extracellular matrix. This review explores methods to measure tension and its component stresses, considering bilayer heterogeneity.

Keywords:
Bilayer forceCell membraneLipid tensionMembrane flowMembrane mechanicsPropagation

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • The cell membrane acts as a barrier, controlling molecular exchange.
  • Membrane tension is vital for cell shape, motility, signaling, endocytosis, and mechanosensation.
  • Tension arises from the lipid bilayer, cytoskeleton, and extracellular matrix.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review techniques for measuring mean cell membrane tension.
  • To discuss methods for resolving stresses within membrane components.
  • To consider the impact of lipid bilayer heterogeneity on membrane tension.

Main Methods:

  • Discussion of established and emerging techniques for tension measurement.
  • Analysis of methods to differentiate forces from the bilayer, cytoskeleton, and extracellular matrix.
  • Consideration of experimental approaches to probe bilayer properties.

Main Results:

  • Current methods allow for the measurement of overall membrane tension.
  • Challenges remain in precisely resolving forces contributed by individual membrane components.
  • Bilayer heterogeneity can significantly influence tension distribution and propagation.

Conclusions:

  • Accurate measurement of membrane tension and its components is essential for understanding cell mechanics.
  • Future research should focus on refining techniques to resolve localized stresses and account for membrane heterogeneity.
  • Understanding membrane tension dynamics is key to elucidating various cellular processes.