Curvature-driven lipid sorting needs proximity to a demixing point and is aided by proteins.

ABSTRACT: Sorting of lipids and proteins is a key process allowing eukaryotic cells to execute efficient and accurate intracellular transport and to maintain membrane homeostasis. It occurs during the formation of highly curved transport intermediates that shuttle between cell compartments. Protein sorting is reasonably well described, but lipid sorting is much less understood. Lipid sorting has been proposed to be mediated by a physical mechanism based on the coupling between membrane composition and high curvature of the transport intermediates. To test this hypothesis, we have performed a combination of fluorescence and force measurements on membrane tubes of controlled diameters pulled from giant unilamellar vesicles. A model based on membrane elasticity and nonideal solution theory has also bee

SUBMITTER: Sorre B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2667082 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature