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Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Membrane Remodeling of Giant Vesicles in Response to Localized Calcium Ion Gradients
Published on: July 16, 2018
GM1 asymmetry in the membrane stabilizes pores
Mina Aleksanyan1, Rafael B Lira2, Jan Steinkühler2
1Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Science Park Golm, 14476 Potsdam, Germany; Institute for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
Cell membranes are highly asymmetric and their stability against poration is crucial for survival. We investigated the influence of membrane asymmetry on electroporation of giant unilamellar vesicles with membranes doped with GM1, a ganglioside asymmetrically enriched in the outer leaflet of neuronal cell membranes. Compared with symmetric membranes, the lifetimes of micronsized pores are about an order of magnitude longer suggesting that pores are stabilized by GM1. Internal membrane nanotubes caused by the GM1 asymmetry, obstruct and additionally slow down pore closure, effectively reducing pore edge tension and leading to leaky membranes. Our results point to the drastic effects this ganglioside can have on pore resealing in biotechnology applications based on poration as well as on membrane repair processes.
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