Journal
MEMBRANES
Volume 11, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/membranes11120912
Keywords
lipid bilayer membrane; synthetic cells; membrane proteins; membrane fusion; synthetic cell communications
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [1935265]
- National Institutes of Health [R01 EB030031]
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1935265] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Emerging Frontiers [1935265] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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This review discusses the importance of model membranes made of phospholipids for studying biological processes, focusing on key biological events involving membranes. The article also reviews different lipid bilayer platforms used for incorporating membrane proteins, methods for membrane fusion reconstitution, and the challenges and opportunities of intercellular communication between synthetic cells and natural cells.
In the pursuit of understanding life, model membranes made of phospholipids were envisaged decades ago as a platform for the bottom-up study of biological processes. Micron-sized lipid vesicles have gained great acceptance as their bilayer membrane resembles the natural cell membrane. Important biological events involving membranes, such as membrane protein insertion, membrane fusion, and intercellular communication, will be highlighted in this review with recent research updates. We will first review different lipid bilayer platforms used for incorporation of integral membrane proteins and challenges associated with their functional reconstitution. We next discuss different methods for reconstitution of membrane fusion and compare their fusion efficiency. Lastly, we will highlight the importance and challenges of intercellular communication between synthetic cells and synthetic cells-to-natural cells. We will summarize the review by highlighting the challenges and opportunities associated with studying membrane-membrane interactions and possible future research directions.
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