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PMID: 11806912 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Membrane fusion: stalk model revisited.

Biophysical journal ·Vol. 82 ·No. 2 ·2002-02-00 ·Pages 693-712

Markin VS, Albanesi JP

Abstract

Membrane fusion is believed to proceed via intermediate structures called stalks. Mathematical analysis of the stalk provided the elastic energy involved in this structure and predicted the possible evolution of the overall process, but the energies predicted by the original model were suspiciously high. This was due to an erroneous assumption, i.e., that the stalk has a figure of revolution of a circular arc. Here we abandon this assumption and calculate the correct shape of the stalk. We find that it can be made completely stress free and, hence, its energy, instead of being positive and high can become negative, thus facilitating the fusion process. Based on our new calculations, the energies of hemifusion, of complete fusion, and of the pore in a bilayer were analyzed. Implications for membrane fusion and lipid phase transitions are discussed.

MeSH Terms
Biophysical Phenomena Biophysics Cell Membrane/chemistry Kinetics Lipid Bilayers/chemistry Membrane Fusion Membrane Lipids/chemistry Models, Biological Models, Theoretical Thermodynamics
Chemicals
Lipid Bilayers Membrane Lipids
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Markin Vladislav S
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA. [email protected]
Albanesi Joseph P
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Article Info
Journal
Biophysical journal
Abbr.
Biophys J
ISSN
0006-3495
DOI
10.1016/S0006-3495(02)75432-5
Email
[email protected]
Published
2002-02-00
Pages
693-712
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0370626
PMCID
PMC1301879
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM55562 · United States
Corrections
CommentIn
PMID: 11806900
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3495(02)75432-5 PMC Full Text View journal details
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