Author/Editor		Svetina, S; Božič, B; Majhenc, J; Žekš, B
Title		Mechanical properties of closed lamellar membranes and cellular processes
Type		članek
Source		Nonlinear Anal-Theor
Vol. and No.		Letnik 47, št. 1
Publication year		2001
Volume		str. 269-80
Language		eng
Abstract		The paper considers cellular processes that involve changes in membrane conformation. A general oveview of the relationship between the mechanical properties of lamellar membranes and the shapes of vesicles and cells is given. Variational procedures are described for calculating the equilibrium shapes of simple vesicular objects, based on the assumption that these shapes correspond to the minimum of the sun of the membrane local and nonlocal bending energies. The two properties of closed lamellar membranes which could form a physical basis for biological processes are proposed to be the symmetry breaking in vesicle shape behavior and vesicle budding. The cellular processes are discussed on the basis of the hypothesis that the shape behavior of simple vesicular objects may serve as a framework for their analysis. It is proposed that the description of certain cellular processes requires the inclusion of energy contributions additional to the membrane bending energy, and/or the involvement of cytoplasmic structures which exert forces on the membrane. Several specific examples are used to demonstrate that such generalizations may help reveal the functional role of certain cell consistents.
Descriptors		MEMBRANES, ARTIFICIAL LIPID BILAYERS PHOSPHOLIPIDS MEMBRANE FLUIDITY PARTICLE SIZE ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE MEMBRANE FUSION MODELS, THEORETICAL