Geometric coupling of helicoidal ramps and curvature-inducing proteins in organelle membranes.

ABSTRACT: Cellular membranes display an incredibly diverse range of shapes, both in the plasma membrane and at membrane bound organelles. These morphologies are intricately related to cellular functions, enabling and regulating fundamental membrane processes. However, the biophysical mechanisms at the origin of these complex geometries are not fully understood from the standpoint of membrane-protein coupling. In this study, we focused on a minimal model of helicoidal ramps representative of specialized endoplasmic reticulum compartments. Given a helicoidal membrane geometry, we asked what is the distribution of spontaneous curvature required to maintain this shape at mechanical equilibrium? Based on the Helfrich energy of elastic membranes with spontaneous curvature, we derived the shape equation fo

SUBMITTER: Chabanon M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6769308 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature