ArticleScientific reports2024
The local variation of the Gaussian modulus enables different pathways for fluid lipid vesicle fusion.
Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Hydrodynamical pathways in the phase change of real fluids.Communications physics · 2026Article
- The Interplay of Lipids and Peptides in Membrane Merger.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Complex transition pathways in boiling and cavitation.Journal of fluid mechanics · 2025Article
- The lateral stress profile of fluid lipid membranes as revealed by the diffuse interface approach.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
- The diffuse interface description of fluid lipid membranes captures key features of the hemifusion pathway and lateral stress profile.PNAS nexus · 2024Article
- Mesoscopic elasticity controls dynamin-driven fission of lipid tubules.Scientific reports · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Viral infections, fertilization, neurotransmission, and many other fundamental biological processes rely on membrane fusion. Straightforward calculations based on the celebrated Canham-Helfrich elastic model predict a large topological energy barrier that prevents the fusion process from being thermally activated. While such high energy is in accordance with the physical barrier function of lipid membranes, it is difficult to reconcile with the biological mechanisms involved in fusion processes. In this work, we use a Ginzburg-Landau type of free energy that recovers the Canham-Helfrich model in the limit of small width-to-vesicle-extension ratio, with the additional ability to handle topological transitions. We show that a local modification of the Gaussian modulus in the merging region both dramatically lowers the elastic energy barrier and substantially changes the minimal energy pathway for fusion, in accordance with experimental evidence. Therefore, we discuss biological examples in which such a modification might play a crucial role.
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Registered trials
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