Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent
Membrane fusion mediates multiple vital processes in cell life. Specialized proteins mediate the fusion process, and a substantial part of their energy is used for topological rearrangement of the membrane lipid matrix. Therefore, the elastic parameters of lipid bilayers are of crucial importance fo...
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doaj-8b07daafebd74df094a38b3acc80f7632020-11-24T22:31:24ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1422-00672018-05-01195135810.3390/ijms19051358ijms19051358Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-DependentSergey A. Akimov0Michael A. Polynkin1Irene Jiménez-Munguía2Konstantin V. Pavlov3Oleg V. Batishchev4Laboratory of Bioelectrochemistry, A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 31/4 Leninskiy Prospekt, 119071 Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Bioelectrochemistry, A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 31/4 Leninskiy Prospekt, 119071 Moscow, RussiaDepartment of Engineering of Technological Equipment, National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, 4 Leninskiy Prospekt, 119049 Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Electrophysiology, Federal Clinical Center of Physical-Chemical Medicine of FMBA, 1a Malaya Pirogovskaya Street, 119435 Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Bioelectrochemistry, A.N. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 31/4 Leninskiy Prospekt, 119071 Moscow, RussiaMembrane fusion mediates multiple vital processes in cell life. Specialized proteins mediate the fusion process, and a substantial part of their energy is used for topological rearrangement of the membrane lipid matrix. Therefore, the elastic parameters of lipid bilayers are of crucial importance for fusion processes and for determination of the energy barriers that have to be crossed for the process to take place. In the case of fusion of enveloped viruses (e.g., influenza) with endosomal membrane, the interacting membranes are in an acidic environment, which can affect the membrane’s mechanical properties. This factor is often neglected in the analysis of virus-induced membrane fusion. In the present work, we demonstrate that even for membranes composed of zwitterionic lipids, changes of the environmental pH in the physiologically relevant range of 4.0 to 7.5 can affect the rate of the membrane fusion notably. Using a continual model, we demonstrated that the key factor defining the height of the energy barrier is the spontaneous curvature of the lipid monolayer. Changes of this parameter are likely to be caused by rearrangements of the polar part of lipid molecules in response to changes of the pH of the aqueous solution bathing the membrane.http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/5/1358membrane fusionenveloped virusinfluenzastalktheory of elasticitypH dependence |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sergey A. Akimov Michael A. Polynkin Irene Jiménez-Munguía Konstantin V. Pavlov Oleg V. Batishchev |
spellingShingle |
Sergey A. Akimov Michael A. Polynkin Irene Jiménez-Munguía Konstantin V. Pavlov Oleg V. Batishchev Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent International Journal of Molecular Sciences membrane fusion enveloped virus influenza stalk theory of elasticity pH dependence |
author_facet |
Sergey A. Akimov Michael A. Polynkin Irene Jiménez-Munguía Konstantin V. Pavlov Oleg V. Batishchev |
author_sort |
Sergey A. Akimov |
title |
Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent |
title_short |
Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent |
title_full |
Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent |
title_fullStr |
Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent |
title_full_unstemmed |
Phosphatidylcholine Membrane Fusion Is pH-Dependent |
title_sort |
phosphatidylcholine membrane fusion is ph-dependent |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
issn |
1422-0067 |
publishDate |
2018-05-01 |
description |
Membrane fusion mediates multiple vital processes in cell life. Specialized proteins mediate the fusion process, and a substantial part of their energy is used for topological rearrangement of the membrane lipid matrix. Therefore, the elastic parameters of lipid bilayers are of crucial importance for fusion processes and for determination of the energy barriers that have to be crossed for the process to take place. In the case of fusion of enveloped viruses (e.g., influenza) with endosomal membrane, the interacting membranes are in an acidic environment, which can affect the membrane’s mechanical properties. This factor is often neglected in the analysis of virus-induced membrane fusion. In the present work, we demonstrate that even for membranes composed of zwitterionic lipids, changes of the environmental pH in the physiologically relevant range of 4.0 to 7.5 can affect the rate of the membrane fusion notably. Using a continual model, we demonstrated that the key factor defining the height of the energy barrier is the spontaneous curvature of the lipid monolayer. Changes of this parameter are likely to be caused by rearrangements of the polar part of lipid molecules in response to changes of the pH of the aqueous solution bathing the membrane. |
topic |
membrane fusion enveloped virus influenza stalk theory of elasticity pH dependence |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/19/5/1358 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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