Trace membrane additives affect lipid phases with distinct mechanisms: a modified Ising model.

ABSTRACT: The addition of trace molecules into membranes can significantly alter the morphology of the co-existing liquid phases and lipid phase transition temperature. Membrane additives may affect lipid phase dynamics through preferentially partitioning to the boundary between lipid phases or preferentially mixing into one lipid phase. The characteristic differences between these mechanisms are demonstrated here in a minimalistic nearest neighbor model to provide a framework for how slight changes to membrane composition may affect lipid-phase-dependent processes, such as lipid-raft formation, immunological signaling, and molecular sorting preceding endocytosis with coexisting liquid phases. Within the low mole fractions explored here (≤3 mol%), increasing the additive concentration linearly chang

SUBMITTER: Meerschaert RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4412547 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature