Adhesion Mediated by Competition of Ligand-Receptor Binding Against the Lateral Osmotic Pressure of Mobile Repellers

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical model of membrane adhesion mediated by ligand-receptor interactions, balancing binding forces against lateral osmotic pressure of mobile repellers, revealing phase transitions between weak and tight adhesion states.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework for understanding how ligand-receptor binding competes with osmotic pressure of repellers in membrane adhesion.

Findings

Weak adhesion dominated by gravitation and undulation repulsion.

Tight adhesion formed by ligand-receptor binding versus osmotic pressure.

Phase diagram shows transition region with parameter scattering.

Abstract

A model system has been recently developed to study adhesion. It consists of a giant lipid bilayer vesicle with reconstituted lipo-polymers (repellers) as well as with lipo-ligands recognized by receptors covering the substrate. Adhesion in this system is studied theoretically. The state of the weak adhesion is shown to be dominated by the competition of the gravitation and the undulation repulsion between the membrane and the substrate. The state of the tight adhesion is formed by a competition of the ligand-receptor binding and the lateral osmotic pressure of the mobile repeller molecules. The regions of the weak and the tight adhesion are separated on the phase diagram by a whole transition region due to the scattering in parameters of vesicles.