Abstract
Fusion of cellular membranes during normal biological processes, including proliferation, or synaptic transmission, is mediated and controlled by sophisticated protein machinery ensuring the preservation of the vital barrier function of the membrane throughout the process. Fusion of virus particles with host cell membranes is more sparingly arranged and often mediated by a single fusion protein, and the virus can afford to be less discriminative towards the possible different outcomes of fusion attempts. Formation of leaky intermediates was recently observed in some fusion processes, and an alternative trajectory of the process involving formation of π-shaped structures was suggested. In this study, we apply the methods of elasticity theory and Lagrangian formalism augmented by phenomenological and molecular geometry constraints and boundary conditions to investigate the traits of this trajectory and the drivers behind the choice of one of the possible scenarios depending on the properties of the system. The alternative pathway proved to be a dead end, and, depending on the parameters of the participating membranes and fusion proteins, the system can either reversibly enter the corresponding “leaky” configuration or be trapped in it. A parametric study in the biologically relevant range of variables emphasized the fusion protein properties crucial for the choice of the fusion scenario.
Highlights
Membrane fusion plays an important role in multiple biological processes, such as exocytosis, fertilization, synaptic transmission etc
It seems reasonable to assume that the structure of fusion proteins would determine the choice of the fusion scenario. We investigate this correlation and try to identify the parameters of the fusion proteins that play a definitive role in the selection of one of the alternative trajectories of the membrane fusion process
We explore the ability of the membranes to fuse in case a π-shaped structure is formed after the conformational transition of the fusion proteins
Summary
Membrane fusion plays an important role in multiple biological processes, such as exocytosis, fertilization, synaptic transmission etc. [1]. Membrane fusion plays an important role in multiple biological processes, such as exocytosis, fertilization, synaptic transmission etc. Besides these processes normal for a living cell, it constitutes a crucial stage in viral infection [2]. A commonly adopted paradigm is that any physiological processes involving the remodeling of a biological membrane must not violate its primary function as a physical barrier separating the cell and its organelles from the exterior. The stalk-fusion diaphragm model was proposed for description of the rearrangement of the interacting lipid bilayers in the course of fusion [3]. The model assumes that, at the initial stage of fusion, the contact monolayers.
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