Measurement of the membrane curvature preference of phospholipids reveals only weak coupling between lipid shape and leaflet curvature.

ABSTRACT: In biological processes, such as fission, fusion and trafficking, it has been shown that lipids of different shapes are sorted into regions with different membrane curvatures. This lipid sorting has been hypothesized to be due to the coupling between the membrane curvature and the lipid's spontaneous curvature, which is related to the lipid's molecular shape. On the other hand, theoretical predictions and simulations suggest that the curvature preference of lipids, due to shape alone, is weaker than that observed in biological processes. To distinguish between these different views, we have directly measured the curvature preferences of several lipids by using a fluorescence-based method. We prepared small unilamellar vesicles of different sizes with a mixture of egg-PC and a small mole fr

SUBMITTER: Kamal MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2797532 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature