Significance of in situ quantitative membrane property–morphology relation (QmPMR) analysis

Abstract

Deformation of the cell membrane is well understood from the viewpoint of protein interactions and free energy balance. However, the various dynamic properties of the membrane, such as lipid packing and hydrophobicity, and their relationship with cell membrane deformation are unknown. Therefore, the deformation of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and oleic acid (OA) giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) was induced by heating and cooling cycles, and time-lapse analysis was conducted based on the membrane hydrophobicity and physical parameters of “single-parent” and “daughter” vesicles. Fluorescence ratiometric analysis by simultaneous dual-wavelength detection revealed the variation of different hydrophilic GUVs and enabled inferences of the “daughter” vesicle composition and the “parent” membrane's local composition during deformation; the “daughter” vesicle composition of OA was lower than that of the “parents”, and lateral movement of OA was the primary contributor to the formation of the “daughter” vesicles. Thus, our findings and the newly developed methodology, named in situ quantitative membrane property–morphology relation (QmPMR) analysis, would provide new insights into cell deformation and accelerate research on both deformation and its related events, such as budding and birthing.