Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Biological transmission of vesicular content occurs by opening of a fusion pore. Recent experimental observations have illustrated that fusion pores between vesicles that are docked by an extended flat contact zone are located at the edge (vertex) of this zone. We modeled this experimentally observed scenario by coarse-grained molecular simulations and elastic theory. This revealed that fusion pores experience a direct attraction toward the vertex. The size adopted by the resulting vertex pore strongly depends on the apparent contact angle between the adhered vesicles even in the absence of membrane surface tension. Larger contact angles substantially increase the equilibrium size of the vertex pore. Because the cellular membrane fusion machinery actively docks membranes, it facilitates a collective expansion of the contact zone and increases the contact angle. In this way, the fusion machinery can drive expansion of the fusion pore by free energy equivalents of multiple tens of kBT from a distance and not only through the fusion proteins that reside within the fusion pore.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
