Dynamic Shaping of Cellular Membranes by Phospholipids and Membrane-Deforming Proteins

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 1219-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiro Suetsugu ◽  
Shusaku Kurisu ◽  
Tadaomi Takenawa
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Coated Pits ◽  
Cytosolic Proteins ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids ◽  
Vital Functions ◽  
Submicron Scale ◽  
Micro Structures

All cellular compartments are separated from the external environment by a membrane, which consists of a lipid bilayer. Subcellular structures, including clathrin-coated pits, caveolae, filopodia, lamellipodia, podosomes, and other intracellular membrane systems, are molded into their specific submicron-scale shapes through various mechanisms. Cells construct their micro-structures on plasma membrane and execute vital functions for life, such as cell migration, cell division, endocytosis, exocytosis, and cytoskeletal regulation. The plasma membrane, rich in anionic phospholipids, utilizes the electrostatic nature of the lipids, specifically the phosphoinositides, to form interactions with cytosolic proteins. These cytosolic proteins have three modes of interaction: 1) electrostatic interaction through unstructured polycationic regions, 2) through structured phosphoinositide-specific binding domains, and 3) through structured domains that bind the membrane without specificity for particular phospholipid. Among the structured domains, there are several that have membrane-deforming activity, which is essential for the formation of concave or convex membrane curvature. These domains include the amphipathic helix, which deforms the membrane by hemi-insertion of the helix with both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, and/or the BAR domain superfamily, known to use their positively charged, curved structural surface to deform membranes. Below the membrane, actin filaments support the micro-structures through interactions with several BAR proteins as well as other scaffold proteins, resulting in outward and inward membrane micro-structure formation. Here, we describe the characteristics of phospholipids, and the mechanisms utilized by phosphoinositides to regulate cellular events. We then summarize the precise mechanisms underlying the construction of membrane micro-structures and their involvements in physiological and pathological processes.

Mechanics of Curved Plasma Membrane Vesicles: Resting Shapes, Membrane Curvature, and In-Plane Shear Elasticity

2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadashi Kosawada ◽  
Kohji Inoue ◽  
Geert W. Schmid-Schönbein
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Membrane Tension ◽  
Coated Pits ◽  
Plane Shear ◽  
Plasmalemmal Vesicles ◽  
Cell Functions ◽  
Outer Domain ◽  
Shear Elasticity

Highly curved cell membrane structures, such as plasmalemmal vesicles (caveolae) and clathrin-coated pits, facilitate many cell functions, including the clustering of membrane receptors and transport of specific extracellular macromolecules by endothelial cells. These structures are subject to large mechanical deformations when the plasma membrane is stretched and subject to a change of its curvature. To enhance our understanding of plasmalemmal vesicles we need to improve the understanding of the mechanics in regions of high membrane curvatures. We examine here, theoretically, the shapes of plasmalemmal vesicles assuming that they consist of three membrane domains: an inner domain with high curvature, an outer domain with moderate curvature, and an outermost flat domain, all in the unstressed state. We assume the membrane properties are the same in these domains with membrane bending elasticity as well as in-plane shear elasticity. Special emphasis is placed on the effects of membrane curvature and in-plane shear elasticity on the mechanics of vesicle during unfolding by application of membrane tension. The vesicle shapes were computed by minimization of bending and in-plane shear strain energy. Mechanically stable vesicles were identified with characteristic membrane necks. Upon stretch of the membrane, the vesicle necks disappeared relatively abruptly leading to membrane shapes that consist of curved indentations. While the resting shape of vesicles is predominantly affected by the membrane spontaneous curvatures, the membrane shear elasticity (for a range of values recorded in the red cell membrane) makes a significant contribution as the vesicle is subject to stretch and unfolding. The membrane tension required to unfold the vesicle is sensitive with respect to its shape, especially as the vesicle becomes fully unfolded and approaches a relative flat shape.

Annexins Bend Wound Edges during Plasma Membrane Repair

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (22) ◽  
pp. 3600-3610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Cohen Simonsen ◽  
Theresa Louise Boye ◽  
Jesper Nylandsted
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Repair System ◽  
Membrane Repair ◽  
Membrane Injury ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids ◽  
Annexin A4 ◽  
Plasma Membrane Repair

The plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells defines the boundary to the extracellular environment and, thus provides essential protection from the surroundings. Consequently, disruptions to the cell membrane triggered by excessive mechanical or biochemical stresses pose fatal threats to cells, which they need to cope with to survive. Eukaryotic cells cope with these threats by activating their plasma membrane repair system, which is shared by other cellular functions, and includes mechanisms to remove damaged membrane by internalization (endocytosis), shedding, reorganization of cytoskeleton and membrane fusion events to reseal the membrane. Members of the annexin protein family, which are characterized by their Ca2+-dependent binding to anionic phospholipids, are important regulators of plasma membrane repair. Recent studies based on cellular and biophysical membrane models show that they have more distinct functions in the repair response than previously assumed by regulating membrane curvature and excision of damaged membrane. In cells, plasma membrane injury and flux of Ca2+ ions into the cytoplasm trigger recruitment of annexins including annexin A4 and A6 to the membrane wound edges. Here, they induce curvature and constriction force, which help pull the wound edges together for eventual fusion. Cancer cells are dependent on efficient plasma membrane repair to counteract frequent stress-induced membrane injuries, which opens novel avenues to target cancer cells through their membrane repair system. Here, we discuss mechanisms of single cell wound healing implicating annexin proteins and membrane curvature.

Binding and uptake of concanavalin A into rat brain synaptosomes: evidence for synaptic vesicle recycling

1983 ◽  
Vol 219 (1217) ◽  
pp. 413-422 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Rat Brain ◽  
Synaptic Vesicle ◽  
Concanavalin A ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Synaptic Cleft ◽  
Con A ◽  
Coated Pits ◽  
Rat Brain Synaptosomes ◽  
Brain Synaptosomes

The specific binding of radioiodinated concanavalin A ( 125 I-con A) to rat brain synaptosomes was shown to be saturable. In the presence of ex­cess con A binding was rapid and was completed within 5 min ( t 1/2 was 25 s) at 37°C, and at saturation the amount bound did not change over time. Under the electron microscope, concanavalin A-ferritin (con A-ft) bound to synaptosomes in two regions: in the extra-junctional plasma membrane and within the synaptic cleft of Gray type 1 and 2 synapses. Synaptosomes incubated with con A-ft at 37°C internalized bound lectin by endocytosis through coated pits. Endocytosis took place in the extra-junctional membrane, because it can occur before con A-ft has penetrated into the synaptic cleft, and continued for a considerable time (more than 30 min) after saturation of the receptor(s). Synaptic vesicles, which have at least two con A receptors on the internal aspect of their membranes, and cisternae, become labelled. When exocytosis was induced in synaptosomes by K + depolarizations, synaptic vesicle con A receptors became incorporated into the plasma membrane and were labelled with 125 I-con A causing a 2.5-fold increase in con A binding that was Ca 2+ dependent. These experiments thus provide evidence for the transient incorporation of synaptic vesicle membrane glycoproteins into the plasma membrane during transmitter release.

scholarly journals The influence of phosphatidylserine localisation and lipid phase on membrane remodelling by the ESCRT-II/ESCRT-III complex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Booth ◽  
Christopher J. Marklew ◽  
Barbara Ciani ◽  
Paul A. Beales
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Bilayers ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Annexin V ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Lipid Phase ◽  
Membrane Mechanics ◽  
Anionic Phospholipids ◽  
Escrt Complex ◽  
Phospholipid Distribution ◽  
Curvature Driven

AbstractThe endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) organises in supramolecular structures on the surface of lipid bilayers to drive membrane invagination and scission of intraluminal vesicles (ILVs), a process also controlled by membrane mechanics. However, ESCRT association with the membrane is also mediated by electrostatic interactions with anionic phospholipids. Phospholipid distribution within natural biomembranes is inhomogeneous due to, for example, the formation of lipid rafts and curvature-driven lipid sorting. Here, we have used phase-separated giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to investigate the link between phosphatidylserine (PS)-rich lipid domains and ESCRT activity. We employ GUVs composed of phase separating lipid mixtures, where unsaturated DOPS and saturated DPPS lipids are incorporated individually or simultaneously to enhance PS localisation in liquid disordered (Ld) and/or liquid ordered (Lo) domains, respectively. PS partitioning between the coexisting phases is confirmed by a fluorescent Annexin V probe. Ultimately, we find that ILV generation promoted by ESCRTs is significantly enhanced when PS lipids localise within Ld domains. However, the ILVs that form are rich in Lo lipids. We interpret this surprising observation as preferential recruitment of the Lo phase beneath the ESCRT complex due to its increased rigidity, where the Ld phase is favoured in the neck of the resultant buds to facilitate the high membrane curvature in these regions of the membrane during the ILV formation process. Ld domains offer lower resistance to membrane bending, demonstrating a mechanism by which the composition and mechanics of membranes can be coupled to regulate the location and efficiency of ESCRT activity.

scholarly journals 4-Dialkylamino-2,5-dihydroimidazol-1-oxyls with Functional Groups at the Position 2 and at the Exocyclic Nitrogen: The pH-Sensitive Spin Labels

Gels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Dmitrii G. Trofimov ◽  
Yuri I. Glazachev ◽  
Artem A. Gorodetsky ◽  
Denis A. Komarov ◽  
Tatyana V. Rybalova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Specific Binding ◽  
Ph Sensitive ◽  
Epr Spectra ◽  
Spin Labels ◽  
Adsorption Activity ◽  
Ph Variation ◽  
Ph Changes ◽  
Vital Functions

Local acidity and electrostatic interactions are associated both with catalytic properties and the adsorption activity of various materials, and with the vital functions of biomolecules. The observation of acid–base equilibria in stable free radicals using EPR spectroscopy represents a convenient method for monitoring pH changes and the investigation of surface electrostatics, the advantages of which are especially evident in opaque and turbid samples and in porous materials such as xerogels. Imidazoline nitroxides are the most commonly used pH-sensitive spin probes and labels due to the high sensitivity of the parameters of the EPR spectra to pH changes, their small size, and their well-developed chemistry. In this work, several new derivatives of 4-(N,N-dialkylamino)-2,5-dihydrioimidazol-1-oxyl, with functional groups suitable for specific binding, were synthesized. The dependence of the parameters of their EPR spectra on pH was studied. Several showed a pKa close to 7.4, following the pH changes in a normal physiological range, and some demonstrated a monotonous change of the hyperfine coupling constant by 0.14 mT upon pH variation by four units.

Changes Occur in Plasma Membrane Turnover when K562 Leukemia Cells are Induced to Differentiate

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 286-287
Author(s):  
L. M. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Intracellular Transport ◽  
Parent Cell ◽  
Membrane Turnover ◽  
Coated Pits ◽  
Surface Distribution ◽  
Specific Proteins ◽  
Erythroleukemic Cell ◽  
Specific Membrane

A human erythroleukemic cell line, metabolically blocked in a late stage of erythropoiesis, becomes capable of differentiation along the normal pathway when grown in the presence of hemin. This process is characterized by hemoglobin synthesis followed by rearrangement of the plasma membrane proteins and culminates in asymmetrical cytokinesis in the absence of nuclear division. A reticulocyte-like cell buds from the nucleus-containing parent cell after erythrocyte specific membrane proteins have been sequestered into its membrane. In this process the parent cell faces two obstacles. First, to organize its erythrocyte specific proteins at one pole of the cell for inclusion in the reticulocyte; second, to reduce or abolish membrane protein turnover since hemoglobin is virtually the only protein being synthesized at this stage. A means of achieving redistribution and cessation of turnover could involve movement of membrane proteins by a directional lipid flow. Generation of a lipid flow towards one pole and accumulation of erythrocyte-specific membrane proteins could be achieved by clathrin coated pits which are implicated in membrane endocytosis, intracellular transport and turnover. In non-differentiating cells, membrane proteins are turned over and are random in surface distribution. If, however, the erythrocyte specific proteins in differentiating cells were excluded from endocytosing coated pits, not only would their turnover cease, but they would also tend to drift towards and collect at the site of endocytosis. This hypothesis requires that different protein species are endocytosed by the coated vesicles in non-differentiating than by differentiating cells.

Caveolin-1, galectin-3 and lipid raft domains in cancer cell signalling

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Shankar ◽  
Cecile Boscher ◽  
Ivan R. Nabi
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Lipid Rafts ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Cell Signalling ◽  
Coated Pits ◽  
Signalling Molecules ◽  
Raft Domains

Spatial organization of the plasma membrane is an essential feature of the cellular response to external stimuli. Receptor organization at the cell surface mediates transmission of extracellular stimuli to intracellular signalling molecules and effectors that impact various cellular processes including cell differentiation, metabolism, growth, migration and apoptosis. Membrane domains include morphologically distinct plasma membrane invaginations such as clathrin-coated pits and caveolae, but also less well-defined domains such as lipid rafts and the galectin lattice. In the present chapter, we will discuss interaction between caveolae, lipid rafts and the galectin lattice in the control of cancer cell signalling.

scholarly journals Cavin1 intrinsically disordered domains are essential for fuzzy electrostatic interactions and caveola formation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikas A. Tillu ◽  
James Rae ◽  
Ya Gao ◽  
Nicholas Ariotti ◽  
Matthias Floetenmeyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Membrane Lipid ◽  
Membrane Curvature ◽  
Caveolin 1 ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered Regions ◽  
Solution Generation ◽  
Endosomal System ◽  
Disordered Regions

AbstractCaveolae are spherically shaped nanodomains of the plasma membrane, generated by cooperative assembly of caveolin and cavin proteins. Cavins are cytosolic peripheral membrane proteins with negatively charged intrinsically disordered regions that flank positively charged α-helical regions. Here, we show that the three disordered domains of Cavin1 are essential for caveola formation and dynamic trafficking of caveolae. Electrostatic interactions between disordered regions and α-helical regions promote liquid-liquid phase separation behaviour of Cavin1 in vitro, assembly of Cavin1 oligomers in solution, generation of membrane curvature, association with caveolin-1, and Cavin1 recruitment to caveolae in cells. Removal of the first disordered region causes irreversible gel formation in vitro and results in aberrant caveola trafficking through the endosomal system. We propose a model for caveola assembly whereby fuzzy electrostatic interactions between Cavin1 and caveolin-1 proteins, combined with membrane lipid interactions, are required to generate membrane curvature and a metastable caveola coat.

Inhibition of clathrin-coated pit assembly by an Eps15 mutant

1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (9) ◽  
pp. 1303-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Benmerah ◽  
M. Bayrou ◽  
N. Cerf-Bensussan ◽  
A. Dautry-Varsat
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Specific Marker ◽  
Coated Pits ◽  
Receptor Mediated Endocytosis ◽  
Gfp Fusion Protein ◽  
Protein Encoding ◽  
Homology Domains

Recent data have shown that Eps15, a newly identified component of clathrin-coated pits constitutively associated with the AP-2 complex, is required for receptor-mediated endocytosis. However, its precise function remains unknown. Interestingly, Eps15 contains three EH (Eps15-Homology) domains also found in proteins required for the internalization step of endocytosis in yeast. Results presented here show that EH domains are required for correct coated pit targeting of Eps15. Furthermore, when cells expressed an Eps15 mutant lacking EH domains, the plasma membrane punctate distribution of both AP-2 and clathrin was lost, implying the absence of coated pits. This was further confirmed by the fact that dynamin, a GTPase found in coated pits, was homogeneously redistributed on the plasma membrane and that endocytosis of transferrin, a specific marker of clathrin-dependent endocytosis, was strongly inhibited. Altogether, these results strongly suggest a role for Eps15 in coated pit assembly and more precisely a role for Eps15 in the docking of AP-2 onto the plasma membrane. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that a GFP fusion protein encoding the ear domain of (alpha)-adaptin, the AP-2 binding site for Eps15, was efficiently targeted to plasma membrane coated pits.

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