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Related Concept Videos

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Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
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Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis
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Osmotic spawning vesicle.

Minoru Kurisu1, Masayuki Imai1

  • 1Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Japan. kurisu@bio.phys.tohoku.ac.jp.

Soft Matter
|September 16, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Researchers discovered a novel vesicle division system using osmotic inflation. This method allows giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to repeatedly divide, producing numerous daughter GUVs without complex chemistry, offering potential for artificial cell proliferation.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Materials Science
  • Chemical Engineering

Background:

  • Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are crucial models for cell membranes.
  • Understanding vesicle division is key to artificial cell development.
  • Existing methods for vesicle proliferation are often complex or limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To discover a simple, scalable method for GUV proliferation.
  • To investigate the physical mechanisms driving vesicle division.
  • To explore the potential of this system for artificial cell applications.

Main Methods:

  • Constructing binary GUVs from sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) and cholesterol (Chol).
  • Inducing osmotic pressure differences using membrane-impermeable (sucrose) and membrane-permeable (fructose) osmolytes.
  • Observing and analyzing GUV morphological changes and division dynamics using microscopy and mechanical models.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated a cascade vesicle division system ('osmotic spawning') driven by osmotic inflation.
  • Achieved repeated division of mother GUVs, producing 30-300 daughter GUVs per mother GUV over several hundred seconds.
  • Validated the observed GUV morphological changes with a mechanical balance model involving membrane bending, tension, and osmotic pressure.

Conclusions:

  • The 'osmotic spawning' system provides a simple, reaction-free method for GUV proliferation.
  • This behavior is governed by fundamental physical principles of membrane mechanics.
  • The system is highly compatible with diverse chemical environments and holds significant potential for artificial cells, drug delivery, and protocell development.