Article
Biophysics
Marcos Arribas Perez, Paul A. Beales
Summary: Membrane fusion is a way to increase the complexity of model membrane systems. In this study, silica nanoparticles were used to fuse liquid-disordered DOPC giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and liquid-ordered DPPC:cholesterol (7:3) GUVs. After fusion, GUVs displayed large membrane domains, indicating lipid redistribution between phase domains. Real-time confocal microscopy revealed the dynamics of asymmetric membrane domain formation in hemifused GUVs and the modulation of the inner membrane leaflet phase state by the DOPC-rich liquid-disordered domains in the outer monolayer.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julia Bahja, Marcus K. Dymond
Summary: Oxidative stress affects lipid membranes by reducing stored curvature elastic energy, which can potentially be mitigated by compounds that increase stored curvature elastic energy; Age-related changes in lipid composition may represent a homeostatic response of cells to compensate for the accumulation of in vivo lipid oxidation products.
FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jan Steinkuehler, Piermarco Fonda, Tripta Bhatia, Ziliang Zhao, Fernanda S. C. Leomil, Reinhard Lipowsky, Rumiana Dimova
Summary: By preserving the structure and composition of the plasma membrane during isolation, vesicles with cell-like elasticity can be obtained, storing significant area in the form of nanotubes and lipid reservoirs. The interplay of lipid domains and membrane curvature leads to a superelastic response that allows for engineering synthetic biomaterials with enhanced deformability.
Article
Biophysics
Martin Girard, Tristan Bereau
Summary: The plasma membrane of eukaryotes exhibits lipid asymmetry, with different lipids primarily located in different leaflets. Using computational simulations, it has been found that saturation asymmetry arises as a result of phospholipid number asymmetry and sphingomyelin contents. This suggests that some asymmetries in lipid composition may naturally result from others and do not require external factors. The asymmetry of cholesterol, on the other hand, is fairly mild and influenced by all the other asymmetries.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gonen Golani, Evgenia Leikina, Kamran Melikov, Jarred M. Whitlock, Dilani G. Gamage, Gracia Luoma-Overstreet, Douglas P. Millay, Michael M. Kozlov, Leonid V. Chernomordik
Summary: Myomerger mediates the transition from the early hemifusion stage to complete fusion during the formation of multinucleated muscle cells. Researchers demonstrate through experiments and theoretical models that Myomerger promotes fusion pore formation by coupling the elastic stresses of the proximal and distal leaflets of myoblast membrane.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andreas Haahr Larsen
Summary: Eukaryotic cells contain membranes with various curvatures, which are generated and sustained by specific proteins, peptides, and lipids. In addition, certain molecules can sense membrane curvature. Molecular dynamics simulations provide a valuable tool for investigating curved lipid membranes and their interactions with membrane-associated proteins.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rose Whiting, Pangaea W. Finn, Andrew Bogard, Fulton McKinney, Dallin Pankratz, Aviana R. Smith, Elen A. Gardner, Daniel Fologea
Summary: Studies have shown that the curvature of lipid membranes influences permeability, with most experiments using flat membranes ignoring this physiological relevance. By adapting an experimental system with differential hydrostatic pressure on a lipid membrane and measuring capacitance and conductance, a strong correlation between membrane geometry changes and conductance was observed. This system may help understand the intricate relationship between membrane mechanics, cellular functionalities, and mechanical stimulation effects.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jichul Kim
Summary: This paper reviews continuum theories based on curvature elasticity and lateral surface tension to describe the mechanical deformation of lipid membranes, including curvature deformation and lateral stretching. Numerical methods and biological applications of these theories are also discussed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Muhammed F. Erguder, Markus Deserno
Summary: This study reveals systematic errors in measuring the elastic properties of lipid membranes through computer simulation and data analysis, and proposes standards and recommendations to assist in the choice of fluctuation analysis. While observable shifts from large-wavelength limits vanish in principle, for intrinsically local parameters, such as twist modulus or splay-tilt coupling, there is no exact limit, making not all choices easily verifiable.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Weria Pezeshkian, John H. Ipsen
Summary: The study of properties of freestanding tensionless interfaces and membranes at low bending rigidity kappa reveals three different regimes, which are important for describing soft interface systems.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vanesa Viviana Galassi, Natalia Wilke
Summary: Cell membrane structure is mainly composed of lipids and embedded proteins, with their properties influenced by lipid behavior and interactions with other factors. The lipid bilayer consists of a soft, dynamic and viscoelastic structure, affected by lipid composition, temperature, pH, etc.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Emilia Krok, Henri G. Franquelim, Madhurima Chattopadhyay, Hanna Orlikowska-Rzeznik, Petra Schwille, Lukasz Piatkowski
Summary: This study investigates the structural reorganization of lipid membranes under different hydration conditions. The findings show that reducing the hydration state of the membrane leads to increased lipid mixing between the liquid-disordered phase and the liquid-ordered phase. These changes are reversible upon membrane rehydration.
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Faezeh Ebrahimi
Summary: This research investigates the effect of Gaussian energy on the configurations of axisymmetric lipid membranes and proposes a new mathematical model that includes Gaussian energy to accurately capture the changes in membrane topology.
COMPUTER METHODS IN APPLIED MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Patrick D. Tran, Thomas A. Blanpied, Paul J. Atzberger
Summary: In this study, we developed methods to investigate protein drift-diffusion dynamics in heterogeneous cell membranes and explore the roles of geometry, diffusion, chemical kinetics, and phase separation. Our hybrid stochastic numerical methods combine discrete particle descriptions with continuum-level models, allowing us to track individual protein dynamics while coupled to continuum fields.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Ming Yang, Shilu Luo, Jinfei Yang, Wei Chen, Liyu He, Di Liu, Li Zhao, Xi Wang
Summary: This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms of renal lipid deposition in diabetic nephropathy and discusses the potential of peridroplet mitochondria as a therapeutic target.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Muhittin Mungan, M. Mert Terzi
ANNALES HENRI POINCARE
(2019)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
M. Mert Terzi, Muhammed F. Erguder, Markus Deserno
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2019)
Article
Biophysics
Amirali Hossein, Markus Deserno
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Amelie H. R. Koch, Svenja Morsbach, Tristan Bereau, Gaetan Leveque, Hans-Juergen Butt, Markus Deserno, Katharina Landfester, George Fytas
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Amirali Hossein, Markus Deserno
Summary: Cellular membranes are composed of a variety of lipids and proteins with different compositions between the two leaflets, leading to differential stress and affecting mechanical properties. The threshold asymmetry increases with temperature, potentially restricted to a limited range above the gel transition. Stiffening transition is more readily observed in larger membranes with smaller curvature.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Muhammed F. Erguder, Markus Deserno
Summary: This study reveals systematic errors in measuring the elastic properties of lipid membranes through computer simulation and data analysis, and proposes standards and recommendations to assist in the choice of fluctuation analysis. While observable shifts from large-wavelength limits vanish in principle, for intrinsically local parameters, such as twist modulus or splay-tilt coupling, there is no exact limit, making not all choices easily verifiable.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Samuel L. Foley, Amirali Hossein, Markus Deserno
Summary: A widely conserved property of biological lipid bilayers is their asymmetry, where the two sides of the membrane have distinct compositions and can exhibit different tensions. Molecular dynamics simulations show that at temperatures close to the main transition, finite gel domains emerge within the compressed leaflet. By introducing empirical single-leaflet free energies and considering finite size effects in the simulations, our model reproduces the observed phase coexistence. This model can connect the hidden variable of differential stress to experimentally observable properties of the main phase transition and can be applied to other bilayer phase transitions with asymmetry.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Malavika Varma, Markus Deserno
Summary: The asymmetric lipid membranes of eukaryotic cells help to maintain stability, with cholesterol distribution between leaflets determined by chemical equilibrium. By controlling cholesterol mixing, it is possible to counteract biases in phospholipid numbers and regulate stress in the membrane under asymmetric conditions.
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Samuel L. Foley, Malavika Varma, Amirali Hossein, Markus Deserno
Summary: Many cellular lipid bilayers have asymmetric lipid compositions in their leaflets, and the torque arising from lipids with different spontaneous curvatures can be counterbalanced by a difference in lateral mechanical stress between the leaflets. This hidden stress can affect various membrane properties and provides implications for studying the hidden differential stress. In this note, we provide an overview of our proposed framework for understanding the interplay between curvature, lateral stress, leaflet phase behavior, and cholesterol distribution in asymmetric membranes.
EMERGING TOPICS IN LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Weitao Wang, D. Sebastian Arias, Markus Deserno, Xi Ren, Rebecca E. Taylor
APL BIOENGINEERING
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Samuel Foley, Markus Deserno
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL THEORY AND COMPUTATION
(2020)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Yi-Heng Zhang, Markus Deserno, Zhan-Chun Tu
Article
Chemistry, Physical
M. Mert Terzi, Markus Deserno, John F. Nagle