Next Article in Journal
Targeting Mechanotransduction in Osteosarcoma: A Comparative Oncology Perspective
Next Article in Special Issue
Sustained Exposure of Substance P Causes Tendinopathy
Previous Article in Journal
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1: The Potential Role of microRNAs in the Management of the Syndrome
Previous Article in Special Issue
Streamlining Quantitative Analysis of Long RNA Sequencing Reads
Review

Membrane Curvature, Trans-Membrane Area Asymmetry, Budding, Fission and Organelle Geometry

1
Department of Cell Biology, The FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, 20139 Milan, Italy
2
Imaging Facility, Universita Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milan, Italy
3
Institute of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(20), 7594; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21207594
Received: 21 September 2020 / Revised: 8 October 2020 / Accepted: 9 October 2020 / Published: 14 October 2020
(This article belongs to the Collection Feature Papers in Molecular Biology)
In biology, the modern scientific fashion is to mostly study proteins. Much less attention is paid to lipids. However, lipids themselves are extremely important for the formation and functioning of cellular membrane organelles. Here, the role of the geometry of the lipid bilayer in regulation of organelle shape is analyzed. It is proposed that during rapid shape transition, the number of lipid heads and their size (i.e., due to the change in lipid head charge) inside lipid leaflets modulates the geometrical properties of organelles, in particular their membrane curvature. Insertion of proteins into a lipid bilayer and the shape of protein trans-membrane domains also affect the trans-membrane asymmetry between surface areas of luminal and cytosol leaflets of the membrane. In the cases where lipid molecules with a specific shape are not predominant, the shape of lipids (cylindrical, conical, or wedge-like) is less important for the regulation of membrane curvature, due to the flexibility of their acyl chains and their high ability to diffuse. View Full-Text
Keywords: budding; COP; caveola; endosome; filopodia; membrane fission; Golgi; mitochondria fusion; nuclear envelope; trans–membrane area asymmetry budding; COP; caveola; endosome; filopodia; membrane fission; Golgi; mitochondria fusion; nuclear envelope; trans–membrane area asymmetry
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

MDPI and ACS Style

Mironov, A.A.; Mironov, A.; Derganc, J.; Beznoussenko, G.V. Membrane Curvature, Trans-Membrane Area Asymmetry, Budding, Fission and Organelle Geometry. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 7594. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21207594

AMA Style

Mironov AA, Mironov A, Derganc J, Beznoussenko GV. Membrane Curvature, Trans-Membrane Area Asymmetry, Budding, Fission and Organelle Geometry. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2020; 21(20):7594. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21207594

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mironov, Alexander A., Anna Mironov, Jure Derganc, and Galina V. Beznoussenko. 2020. "Membrane Curvature, Trans-Membrane Area Asymmetry, Budding, Fission and Organelle Geometry" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21, no. 20: 7594. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21207594

Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Access Map by Country/Region

1
Back to TopTop