title: Membrane sorting via the extracellular matrix.
abstract: We consider the coupling between a membrane and the extracellular matrix. Computer simulations demonstrate that the latter coupling is able to sort lipids. It is assumed that membranes are elastic manifolds, and that this manifold is disrupted by the extracellular matrix. For a solid-supported membrane with an actin network on top, regions of positive curvature are induced below the actin fibers. A similar mechanism is conceivable by assuming that the proteins which connect the cytoskeleton to the membrane induce local membrane curvature. The regions of non-zero curvature exist irrespective of any phase transition the lipids themselves may undergo. For lipids that prefer certain curvature, the extracellular matrix thus provides a spatial template for the resulting lateral domain structure of the membrane.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany. Electronic address: sadeghi@theorie.physik.uni-goettingen.de.
authors.forename: Sina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Theoretical Physics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Richard L C
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Vink
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000737:chemistry*; D001692:Biological Transport; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D044367:Phase Transition
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers
keywords: Bilayer membrane structure; Lipid raft; Membrane curvature; Monte Carlo simulation; Statistical physics