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DOE OSTI · 1720236

Double Membrane Formation in Heterogeneous Vesicles

Bolmatov, Dima·Carrillo, Jan Michael·Sumpter, Bobby·Katsaras, John·Lavrentovich, Maxim O.
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Abstract

Lipids are capable of forming a variety of structures, including multi-lamellar vesicles. Layered lipid membranes are found in cell organelles, such as autophagosomes and mitochondria. Here, we present a mechanism for the formation of a double-walled vesicle (i.e., two lipid bilayers) from a unilamellar vesicle through the partitioning and phase separation of a small molecule. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that double membrane formation proceeds via a nucleation and growth process – i.e., after a critical concentration of the small molecules, a patch of double membrane nucleates and grows to cover the entire vesicle. In this paper, we discuss the implications of this mechanism and theoretical approaches for understanding the evolution and formation of double membranes.

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Bolmatov, Dima, Carrillo, Jan Michael, Sumpter, Bobby, Katsaras, John, Lavrentovich, Maxim O.. 2020-08-26. Double Membrane Formation in Heterogeneous Vesicles. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0sm01167c

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