Short-Range Repulsive Interactions between the Surfaces of Lipid Membranes

Abstract

Short-range repulsive interactions are critical to many properties of both cell and model membranes. For example, the close approach of apposing membrane surfaces is governed by short-range interactions. Therefore, for cell membranes, both the magnitude and range of these short-range forces are important in the numerous biological processes where membranes come together, such as cell-cell recognition, synaptic transmission, and protein secretion. Moreover, specificity in biochemical associations can be achieved through a balance of short-range attractive and repulsive interactions. For model membranes, interbilayer interactions determine to a large extent the hydration, aggregation, and fusogenic properties of lipid bilayers and lipid-protein assemblies. In this paper we discuss our recent work on the two principal short-range repulsive interactions acting between cell and model membranes, namely the hydration and steric pressures.