Membrane buckling induced by curved filaments

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Jul 17;103(3):038101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.038101. Epub 2009 Jul 13.

Abstract

We present a novel buckling instability relevant to membrane budding in eukaryotic cells. In this mechanism, curved filaments bind to a lipid bilayer without changing its intrinsic curvature. As more and more filaments adsorb, newly added ones are more and more strained, which destabilizes the flat membrane. We perform a linear stability analysis of filament-dressed membranes and find that the buckling threshold is within reasonable in vivo parameter values. We account for the formation of long tubes previously observed in cells and in purified systems. We study strongly deformed dressed membranes and their bifurcation diagram numerically. Our mechanism could be validated by a simple experiment.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • COS Cells
  • Cell Membrane / chemistry
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism*
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Cytoskeleton / chemistry
  • Cytoskeleton / metabolism*
  • Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport
  • Lipid Bilayers / chemistry
  • Lipid Bilayers / metabolism*
  • Models, Biological*
  • Thermodynamics
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins / chemistry
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • CHMP4A protein, human
  • Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport
  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Vesicular Transport Proteins