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Modeling tubular shapes in the inner mitochondrial membrane.

Authors :
Ponnuswamy A
Nulton J
Mahaffy JM
Salamon P
Frey TG
Baljon AR
Source :
Physical biology [Phys Biol] 2005 Mar; Vol. 2 (1), pp. 73-9.
Publication Year :
2005

Abstract

The inner mitochondrial membrane has been shown to have a novel structure that contains tubular components whose radii are of the order of 10 nm as well as comparatively flat regions. The structural organization of mitochondria is important for understanding their functionality. We present a model that can account, thermodynamically, for the observed size of the tubules. The model contains two lipid constituents with different shapes. They are allowed to distribute in such a way that the composition differs on the two sides of the tubular membrane. Our calculations make two predictions: (1) there is a pressure difference of 0.2 atmospheres across the inner membrane as a necessary consequence of the experimentally observed tubule radius of 10 nm, and (2) migration of differently shaped lipids causes concentration variations of the order of 7% between the two sides of the tubular membrane.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1478-3975
Volume :
2
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Physical biology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
16204859
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1088/1478-3967/2/1/009