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Biophys. J. BioFAST: First Published February 2, 2007. doi:10.1529/biophysj.106.103341
© 2007 by the Biophysical Society.

A more recent version of this article appeared on April 15, 2007.
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BIOPHYSICAL LETTERS

Point-like protrusion as a pre-stalk intermediate in membrane fusion pathway

Avishay Efrat 1, Leonid V Chernomordik 2 and Michael M Kozlov 3*

1 Holon Institute of Technology
2 NICHD, NIH
3 Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: michk{at}post.tau.ac.il.

Submitted on December 19, 2006
Revised on January 18, 2007
Accepted on 22 January 2007


  Abstract
The widely accepted pathway of membrane fusion begins with the fusion stalk representing the initial intermediate of hemifusion. The lipid structures preceding hemifusion and their possible influence on fusion kinetics were not addressed. Here, we suggest the point-like protrusion as a pre-stalk fusion intermediate, which has energy lower than that of stalk and, therefore, does not limit the fusion rate. We demonstrate that by calculating the energy of the point-like protrusion, which depends on the lipid monolayer elastic parameters and the strength of the inter-membrane hydration repulsion. The point-like protrusion completes the fusion-through-hemifusion model of membrane merger.

Key Words: bending elasticity, fusion intermediate, fusion stalk, membrane fusion, point-like protrusion, tilt elasticity




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Copyright © 2007 by the Biophysical Society.