Understanding the free-energy landscape of phase separation in lipid bilayers using molecular dynamics.

ABSTRACT: Liquid-liquid phase separation inside the cell often results in biological condensates that can critically affect cell homeostasis. Such phase separation events occur in multiple parts of cells, including the cell membranes, where the "lipid raft" hypothesis posits the formation of ordered domains floating in a sea of disordered lipids. The resulting lipid domains often have functional roles. However, the thermodynamics of lipid phase separation and their resulting mechanistic effects on cell function and dysfunction are poorly understood. Understanding such complex phenomena in cell membranes, with their diverse lipid compositions, is exceptionally difficult. For these reasons, simple model systems that can recapitulate similar behavior are widely used to study this phenomenon. Despite th

SUBMITTER: Poruthoor AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10645549 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature