Decoupling of liquid ordered domains in model membranes

描述（由申请人提供）：广泛假设膜结构域直接影响从病毒进入细胞到细胞信号传导和胞吐的各种生物过程。许多这样的过程涉及外叶刺激与内叶反应的偶联，如免疫信号传导，但这种偶联的机制在实验上尚未确定。在模型膜系统，如巨大的单层囊泡，液体域很容易通过荧光显微镜成像，并在登记册与对方整个对称的双层。本提案中的工作旨在了解脂质结构域如何在对称模型双层和非对称模型双层中相互作用和相互偶联，这些模型双层更接近地模仿质膜的组成。通过在平面Montal-Mueller双层的两个小叶之间引入烷烃，以及改变温度和电场，将实现对双层和烷烃层厚度的精确控制。通过这种方式，将测试两个瓣叶相互作用的机制的具体假设。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Membrane domains are widely hypothesized to directly influence a variety of biological processes from viral entry into cells to cellular signaling and exocytosis. Many such processes involve coupling of an outer leaflet stimulus to inner leaflet reactions, as in immune signaling, but the mechanism of this coupling is experimentally undetermined. In model membrane systems such as giant unilamellar vesicles, liquid domains are easily imaged by fluorescence microscopy and are in registry with each other across the symmetric bilayer. The work in this proposal aims to understand how lipid domains interact and couple to each other, in both symmetric model bilayers, and asymmetric model bilayers which more closely mimic the composition of the plasma membrane. By introducing alkanes in between the two leaflets of a planar Montal-Mueller bilayer, land varying the temperature and electrical field, exquisite control over the bilayer and alkane layer thickness will be achieved. In this way, specific hypotheses of the mechanism by which the two leaflets interact will be tested.