Membrane sorting via the extracellular matrix

Abstract

We consider the coupling between a membrane and the extracellular matrix. Computer simulations demonstrate that the latter coupling is able to sort lipids. It is assumed that membranes are elastic manifolds, and that this manifold is disrupted by the extracellular matrix. For a solid-supported membrane with an actin network on top, regions of positive curvature are induced below the actin fibers. A similar mechanism is conceivable by assuming that the proteins which connect the cytoskeleton to the membrane induce local membrane curvature. The regions of non-zero curvature exist irrespective of any phase transition the lipids themselves may undergo. For lipids that prefer certain curvature, the extracellular matrix thus provides a spatial template for the resulting lateral domain structure of the membrane.

The Matrisome, Inflammation, and Liver Disease

“…115 It has been recently suggested that ECM proteins contribute to this lateral organization. 116 Signal integration between ECM-binding receptors (e.g., integrins) and extracellular signaling molecules is also know to vary based on ECM stratum. This has best been described for growth factor signaling and categorized as concomitant signaling, collaborative activation, direct activation, amplification, and negative regulation.…”