Issue 25, 2020

Flip-flop asymmetry of cholesterol in model membranes induced by thermal gradients

Abstract

Lipid asymmetry is a crucial property of biological membranes and significantly influences their physical and mechanical properties. It is responsible for maintaining different chemical environments on the external and internal surfaces of cells and organelles and plays a vital role in many biological processes such as cell signalling and budding. In this work we show, using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations, that thermal fields can induce lipid asymmetry in biological membranes. We focus our investigation on cholesterol, an abundant lipid in the plasma membrane, with a rapid flip-flop rate, significantly influencing membrane properties. We demonstrate that thermal fields induce membrane asymmetry with cholesterol showing thermophobic behaviour and therefore accumulating on the cold side of the membrane. This work highlights a possible experimental route to preparing and controlling asymmetry in synthetic membranes.

Graphical abstract: Flip-flop asymmetry of cholesterol in model membranes induced by thermal gradients

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Mar 2020
Accepted
03 Jun 2020
First published
08 Jun 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Soft Matter, 2020,16, 5925-5932

Flip-flop asymmetry of cholesterol in model membranes induced by thermal gradients

J. W. Carter, M. A. Gonzalez, N. J. Brooks, J. M. Seddon and F. Bresme, Soft Matter, 2020, 16, 5925 DOI: 10.1039/D0SM00546K

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