dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaBudded membrane microdomains as regulators for cellular tension
| Authors | Pierre Sens, Matthew S. Turner |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0506030 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0506030 |
Abstract
We propose a mechanism for mechanical regulation at the membrane of living cells, based on the exchange of membrane area between the cell membrane and a membrane reservoir. The reservoir is composed of invaginated membrane microdomains which are liable to flatten upon increase of membrane strain, effectively controlling membrane tension. We show that the domain shape transition is first order, allowing for coexistence between flat and invaginated domains. During coexistence, the membrane tension is controlled by the domains elasticity and by the kinetics of the shape transition. We show that the tension of the plasma membrane of living cells is inherently transient and dynamical, and that valuable insights into the organization of the cell membrane can be obtained by studying the variation of the cell membrane tension upon mechanical perturbation.
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"abstract": "We propose a mechanism for mechanical regulation at the membrane of living\ncells, based on the exchange of membrane area between the cell membrane and a\nmembrane reservoir. The reservoir is composed of invaginated membrane\nmicrodomains which are liable to flatten upon increase of membrane strain,\neffectively controlling membrane tension. We show that the domain shape\ntransition is first order, allowing for coexistence between flat and\ninvaginated domains. During coexistence, the membrane tension is controlled by\nthe domains elasticity and by the kinetics of the shape transition. We show\nthat the tension of the plasma membrane of living cells is inherently transient\nand dynamical, and that valuable insights into the organization of the cell\nmembrane can be obtained by studying the variation of the cell membrane tension\nupon mechanical perturbation.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0506030",
"authors": [
"Pierre Sens",
"Matthew S. Turner"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.SC",
"cond-mat.soft"
],
"title": "Budded membrane microdomains as regulators for cellular tension",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0506030"
},
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