help button home button Biophys. J.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ohta-Iino, S.
Right arrow Articles by Kusumi, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ohta-Iino, S.
Right arrow Articles by Kusumi, A.

Biophys J, July 2001, p. 217-224, Vol. 81, No. 1

Fast Lipid Disorientation at the Onset of Membrane Fusion Revealed by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Satoko Ohta-Iino,* Marta Pasenkiewicz-Gierula,dagger Dagger Yuji Takaoka,Dagger Hiroh Miyagawa,Dagger Kunihiro Kitamura,Dagger and Akihiro Kusumi*§

 *Kusumi Membrane Organizer Project, ERATO, JST, Nagoya 460-0012, Japan;  dagger Department of Biophysics, Institute of Molecular Biology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland;  Dagger Department of Molecular Science, Research Center, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Omiya, Saitama 330-8530, Japan; and  §Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan

Membrane fusion is a key event in vesicular trafficking in every cell, and many fusion-related proteins have been identified. However, how the actual fusion event occurs has not been elucidated. By using molecular dynamics simulations we found that when even a small region of two membranes is closely apposed such that only a limited number of water molecules remain in the apposed area (e.g., by a fusogenic protein and thermal membrane fluctuations), dramatic lipid disorientation results within 100 ps-2 ns, which might initiate membrane fusion. Up to 12% of phospholipid molecules in the apposing layers had their alkyl chains outside the hydrophobic region, lying almost parallel to the membrane surface or protruding out of the bilayer by 2 ns after two membranes were closely apposed.

Biophys J, July 2001, p. 217-224, Vol. 81, No. 1
© 2001 by the Biophysical Society   0006-3495/01/07/217/08  $2.00


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
F. Y. Jiang, Y. Bouret, and J. T. Kindt
Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Lipid Bilayer Edge
Biophys. J., July 1, 2004; 87(1): 182 - 192.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
M. Ge and J. H. Freed
Hydration, Structure, and Molecular Interactions in the Headgroup Region of Dioleoylphosphatidylcholine Bilayers: An Electron Spin Resonance Study
Biophys. J., December 1, 2003; 85(6): 4023 - 4040.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
M. Pasenkiewicz-Gierula, T. Rog, J. Grochowski, P. Serda, R. Czarnecki, T. Librowski, and S. Lochynski
Effects of a Carane Derivative Local Anesthetic on a Phospholipid Bilayer Studied by Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Biophys. J., August 1, 2003; 85(2): 1248 - 1258.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
H. Noguchi and M. Takasu
Adhesion of Nanoparticles to Vesicles: A Brownian Dynamics Simulation
Biophys. J., July 1, 2002; 83(1): 299 - 308.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2001 by the Biophysical Society.