A Note on Vestigial Osmotic Pressure

Recent experiments have indicated that at least a part of the osmotic pressure across the giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV) membrane was balanced by the rapid formation of the monodisperse daughter vesicles inside the GUVs through an endocytosis-like process. Therefore, we investigated a possible osmotic role played by these daughter vesicles for the maintenance of osmotic regulation in the GUVs and, by extension, in living cells. We highlighted a mechanism whereby the daughter vesicles acted as osmotically active solutes (osmoticants), contributing an extra vestigial osmotic pressure component across the membrane of the parent vesicle, and we showed that the consequences were consistent with experimental observations. Our results highlight the significance of osmotic regulation in cellular processes, such as fission/fusion, endocytosis, and exocytosis.

Automated summary

Recent experiments have shown that the osmotic pressure across the GUV membrane is balanced by the formation of daughter vesicles through endocytosis. We investigated the role of these daughter vesicles in osmotic regulation and found that they act as osmoticants, contributing to an extra osmotic pressure component. Our results highlight the importance of osmotic regulation in cellular processes.