Cell Secretion and membrane fusion: highly significant phenomena in the life of a cell

Leabu, Mircea; Nicolson, Garth L.

doi:10.15190/d.2014.22

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Membrane fusion is a rather common biological event, and it occurs in a number of normal events, such as fertilization, development, endocytosis, secretion, nerve transmission and many other normal developmental and restorative processes. Membrane fusion is also important in many pathologic conditions, such as infection, inflammation, neoplasia, cell death and other events [ 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ].…”

Section: Movements Of Lipids Into/out Of Cells: Lipid Carriers Vesicl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An important restraint on membrane fusion is the necessity for specific ‘fusogenic’ proteins. Such proteins are necessary to temporarily bind adjacent membranes together long enough for membrane fusion to take place [ 84 , 85 , 87 , 89 ]. This process requires the close apposition of the two membranes, along with the presence of the fusogenic proteins and the countering of repulsive electrostatic forces between the fusing membranes.…”

Section: Movements Of Lipids Into/out Of Cells: Lipid Carriers Vesicl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This process requires the close apposition of the two membranes, along with the presence of the fusogenic proteins and the countering of repulsive electrostatic forces between the fusing membranes. After close apposition, destabilization of the bilayer lipid structures occurs so that the lipids can form into a temporary non-bilayer transition structure, followed by the rapid reunification of the membrane lipids into bilayer structures [ 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 89 ].…”

Section: Movements Of Lipids Into/out Of Cells: Lipid Carriers Vesicl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Fifty Years of the Fluid–Mosaic Model of Biomembrane Structure and Organization and Its Importance in Biomedicine with Particular Emphasis on Membrane Lipid Replacement

Nicolson

Ferreira

2022

Biomedicines

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Fluid–Mosaic Model has been the accepted general or basic model for biomembrane structure and organization for the last 50 years. In order to establish a basic model for biomembranes, some general principles had to be established, such as thermodynamic assumptions, various molecular interactions, component dynamics, macromolecular organization and other features. Previous researchers placed most membrane proteins on the exterior and interior surfaces of lipid bilayers to form trimolecular structures or as lipoprotein units arranged as modular sheets. Such membrane models were structurally and thermodynamically unsound and did not allow independent lipid and protein lateral movements. The Fluid–Mosaic Membrane Model was the only model that accounted for these and other characteristics, such as membrane asymmetry, variable lateral movements of membrane components, cis- and transmembrane linkages and dynamic associations of membrane components into multimolecular complexes. The original version of the Fluid–Mosaic Membrane Model was never proposed as the ultimate molecular description of all biomembranes, but it did provide a basic framework for nanometer-scale biomembrane organization and dynamics. Because this model was based on available 1960s-era data, it could not explain all of the properties of various biomembranes discovered in subsequent years. However, the fundamental organizational and dynamic aspects of this model remain relevant to this day. After the first generation of this model was published, additional data on various structures associated with membranes were included, resulting in the addition of membrane-associated cytoskeletal, extracellular matrix and other structures, specialized lipid–lipid and lipid–protein domains, and other configurations that can affect membrane dynamics. The presence of such specialized membrane domains has significantly reduced the extent of the fluid lipid membrane matrix as first proposed, and biomembranes are now considered to be less fluid and more mosaic with some fluid areas, rather than a fluid matrix with predominantly mobile components. However, the fluid–lipid matrix regions remain very important in biomembranes, especially those involved in the binding and release of membrane lipid vesicles and the uptake of various nutrients. Membrane phospholipids can associate spontaneously to form lipid structures and vesicles that can fuse with various cellular membranes to transport lipids and other nutrients into cells and organelles and expel damaged lipids and toxic hydrophobic molecules from cells and tissues. This process and the clinical use of membrane phospholipid supplements has important implications for chronic illnesses and the support of healthy mitochondria, plasma membranes and other cellular membrane structures.

show abstract

Section: Movements Of Lipids Into/out Of Cells: Lipid Carriers Vesicl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Movements Of Lipids Into/out Of Cells: Lipid Carriers Vesicl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Movements Of Lipids Into/out Of Cells: Lipid Carriers Vesicl...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Fifty Years of the Fluid–Mosaic Model of Biomembrane Structure and Organization and Its Importance in Biomedicine with Particular Emphasis on Membrane Lipid Replacement

Nicolson

Ferreira

2022

Biomedicines

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The carrier membrane vesicles or intracellular membranes eventually fuse with target membranes to deliver their cargo. Periodic membrane-membrane fusion events occur naturally in cells in order to redistribute membrane lipids and other components between different cellular compartments and remove damaged membrane constituents [3,[69][70][71][72][73][74]. Membrane fusion ensues during a variety of normal cellular events, such as fertilization, development, endocytosis, secretion, nerve transmission and many other normal developmental and restorative processes.…”

Section: Membrane Vesicles Globules and Membrane Fusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Membrane fusion ensues during a variety of normal cellular events, such as fertilization, development, endocytosis, secretion, nerve transmission and many other normal developmental and restorative processes. They are also important in many pathologic situations, such as infection, inflammation, neoplasia, cell death and other events [72][73][74].…”

Section: Membrane Vesicles Globules and Membrane Fusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Brief Introduction to Some Aspects of the Fluid–Mosaic Model of Cell Membrane Structure and Its Importance in Membrane Lipid Replacement

Nicolson

Ferreira

2021

Membranes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Early cell membrane models placed most proteins external to lipid bilayers in trimolecular structures or as modular lipoprotein units. These thermodynamically untenable structures did not allow lipid lateral movements independent of membrane proteins. The Fluid–Mosaic Membrane Model accounted for these and other properties, such as membrane asymmetry, variable lateral mobilities of membrane components and their associations with dynamic complexes. Integral membrane proteins can transform into globular structures that are intercalated to various degrees into a heterogeneous lipid bilayer matrix. This simplified version of cell membrane structure was never proposed as the ultimate biomembrane description, but it provided a basic nanometer scale framework for membrane organization. Subsequently, the structures associated with membranes were considered, including peripheral membrane proteins, and cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix components that restricted lateral mobility. In addition, lipid–lipid and lipid–protein membrane domains, essential for cellular signaling, were proposed and eventually discovered. The presence of specialized membrane domains significantly reduced the extent of the fluid lipid matrix, so membranes have become more mosaic with some fluid areas over time. However, the fluid regions of membranes are very important in lipid transport and exchange. Various lipid globules, droplets, vesicles and other membranes can fuse to incorporate new lipids or expel damaged lipids from membranes, or they can be internalized in endosomes that eventually fuse with other internal vesicles and membranes. They can also be externalized in a reverse process and released as extracellular vesicles and exosomes. In this Special Issue, the use of membrane phospholipids to modify cellular membranes in order to modulate clinically relevant host properties is considered.

show abstract

Light-triggered protease-mediated release of actin-bound cargo from synthetic cells

Akter,

Moghimianavval,

Luker

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Synthetic cells offer a versatile platform for addressing biomedical and environmental challenges, due to their modular design and capability to mimic cellular processes such as biosensing, intercellular communication, and metabolism. Constructing synthetic cells capable of stimuli-responsive secretion is vital for applications in targeted drug delivery and biosensor development. Previous attempts at engineering secretion for synthetic cells have been confined to non-specific cargo release via membrane pores, limiting the spatiotemporal precision and specificity necessary for selective secretion. Here, we designed and constructed a protein-based platform termed TEV Protease-mediated Releasable Actin-binding protein (TRAP) for selective, rapid, and triggerable secretion in synthetic cells. TRAP is designed to bind tightly to reconstituted actin networks and is proteolytically released from bound actin, followed by secretion via cell-penetrating peptide membrane translocation. We demonstrated TRAP’s efficacy in facilitating light-activated secretion of both fluorescent and luminescent proteins. By equipping synthetic cells with a controlled secretion mechanism, TRAP paves the way for the development of stimuli-responsive biomaterials, versatile synthetic cell-based biosensing systems, and therapeutic applications through the integration of synthetic cells with living cells for targeted delivery of protein therapeutics.

show abstract

Cell Secretion and membrane fusion: highly significant phenomena in the life of a cell

Cited by 3 publications

References 17 publications

Fifty Years of the Fluid–Mosaic Model of Biomembrane Structure and Organization and Its Importance in Biomedicine with Particular Emphasis on Membrane Lipid Replacement

Fifty Years of the Fluid–Mosaic Model of Biomembrane Structure and Organization and Its Importance in Biomedicine with Particular Emphasis on Membrane Lipid Replacement

A Brief Introduction to Some Aspects of the Fluid–Mosaic Model of Cell Membrane Structure and Its Importance in Membrane Lipid Replacement

Light-triggered protease-mediated release of actin-bound cargo from synthetic cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About