Related papers: Initiation and dynamics of hemifusion in lipid bil…
Self-consistent field theory is used to determine structural and energetic properties of metastable intermediates and unstable transition states involved in the standard stalk mechanism of bilayer membrane fusion. A microscopic model of…
We have carried out Monte Carlo simulation of the fusion of bilayers of single chain amphiphiles which show phase behavior similar to that of biological lipids. The fusion mechanism we observe is very different from the ``stalk''…
We use self-consistent field theory to determine structural and energetic properties of intermediates and transition states involved in bilayer membrane fusion. In particular, we extend our original calculations from those of the standard…
The behavior of lipid bilayer is important to understand the functionality of cells like the trafficking of ions between cells. Standard procedures to explore the properties of lipid bilayer and hemifused states typically use either…
We have carried out extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the fusion of tense apposed bilayers formed by amphiphilic molecules within the framework of a coarse grained lattice model. The fusion pathway differs from the usual stalk mechanism.…
We calculate the characteristic energies of fusion between planar bilayers as afunction of the distance between them, measured from the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface of one of the two nearest, cis, leaves to the other. The two leaves of…
We propose that the first stage of membrane fusion need not be the formation of a single stalk. Instead, we consider a scenario for defect-induced membrane fusion that proceeds cooperatively via multiple stalk formation. The defects (stalks…
Vesicle fusion is an important process underlying cell division, transport, and membrane trafficking. In phospholipid systems, a range of fusogens including divalent cations and depletants have been shown to induce adhesion, hemifusion, and…
Diffusion in cell membranes is not just simple two-dimensional Brownian motion, but typically depends on the timescale of the observation. The physical origins of this anomalous sub-diffusion are unresolved, and model systems capable of…
Pressure-jump initiated time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies of dynamics of the hydration of the hexagonal phase in biological membranes show that (i) the relaxation of the unit cell spacing is non-exponential in time; (ii) the Bragg…
Lipid bilayer membranes are the fundamental biological barriers that permit life. The bilayer dynamics largely participates in orchestrating cellular workings and is characterized by substantial stability together with extreme plasticity…
Branching of bilayer membranes appear in the inverted hexagonal phase as well as in metastable states of the lamellar phase such as membrane fusion intermediates. A method for estimating the line tension of the branching junction is…
A common mechanism for intracellular transport is the use of controlled deformations of the membrane to create spherical or tubular buds. While the basic physical properties of homogeneous membranes are relatively well-known, the effects of…
Transient electric fields across cell bilayer membranes can lead to electroporation, as well as to cell fusion, and have been extensively studied. We find that transmembrane electric fields similar to those in cells can lead to a massive,…
Recently, Rozovsky et al. reported on the morphology and dynamics of superstructures in three-component lipid bilayers containing saturated and unsaturated lipids as well as cholesterol [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 36 (2005)]. We comment that…
A theory of a lateral stress relaxation in a fluid bilayer membrane under a step-like pressure pulse is proposed. It is shown theoretically that transfer of lipid molecules into a strained region may lead to a substantial decrease of the…
We propose and investigate a model for lipid raft formation and dynamics in biological membranes. The model describes the lipid composition of the membrane and an interaction with cholesterol. To account for cholesterol exchange between…
This article summarizes a variety of physical mechanisms proposed in the literature, which can generate micro- and nanodomains in multicomponent lipid bilayers and biomembranes. It mainly focusses on lipid-driven mechanisms that do not…
We implement the replica exchange molecular dynamics algorithm to study the interactions of a model peptide (WALP-16) with an explicitly represented DPPC membrane bilayer. We observe the spontaneous, unbiased insertion of WALP-16 into the…
Membrane budding has been extensively studied as an equilibrium process attributed to the formation of coexisting domains or changes in the vesicle area to volume ratio (reduced volume). In contrast, non-equilibrium budding remains…