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Biophys J, August 1999, p. 817-828, Vol. 77, No. 2

Ionic Strength Dependence of Localized Contact Formation Between Membranes: Nonlinear Theory and Experiment

W. T. Coakley,* D. Gallez,# E. Ramos de Souza,#§ and H. Gauci*

 *School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF1 3TL, United Kingdom;  #Service de Chimie Physique and Center for Nonlinear Phenomena and Complex Systems, CP 231, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine, 1050 Brussels, Belgium; and  §Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, UFRJ, CCS, Cidade Universitaria, Ilha do Fundao, 21949-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil

Erythrocyte membrane surface or suspending phase properties can be experimentally modified to give either spatially periodic local contacts or continuous contact along the seams of interacting membranes. Here, for cells suspended in a solution of the uncharged polysaccharide dextran, the average lateral separation between localized contacts in spatially periodic seams at eight ionic strengths, decreasing from 0.15 to 0.065, increased from 0.65 to 3.4 µm. The interacting membranes and intermembrane aqueous layer were modeled as a fluid film, submitted to a disjoining pressure, responding to a displacement perturbation either through wave growth resulting in spatially periodic contacts or in perturbation decay, to give a plane continuous film. Measured changes of lateral contact separations with ionic strength change were quantitatively consistent with analytical predictions of linear theory for an instability mechanism dependent on the membrane bending modulus. Introduction of a nonlinear approach established the consequences of the changing interaction potential experienced by different parts of the membrane as the disturbance grew. Numerical solutions of the full nonlinear governing equations correctly identified the ionic strength at which the bifurcation from continuous seam to a stationary periodic contact pattern occurred and showed a decrease in lateral contact and wave crest separation with increasing ionic strength. The nonlinear approach has the potential to recognize the role of nonspecific interactions in initiating the localized approach of membranes, and then incorporate the contribution of specific molecular interactions, of too short a range to influence the beginning of perturbation growth. This new approach can be applied to other biological processes such as neural cell adhesion, phagocytosis, and the acrosome reaction.

Biophys J, August 1999, p. 817-828, Vol. 77, No. 2
© 1999 by the Biophysical Society   0006-3495/99/08/817/12  $2.00


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A. Hategan, K. Sengupta, S. Kahn, E. Sackmann, and D. E. Discher
Topographical Pattern Dynamics in Passive Adhesion of Cell Membranes
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