Polyunsaturated phospholipids facilitate membrane deformation and fission by endocytic proteins

TLDR

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are widely regarded as beneficial and are abundant in organelles such as synaptic vesicles, yet their precise biological roles remain unclear. The study aims to determine how polyunsaturated phospholipids influence membrane deformation and fission mediated by endocytic proteins. The authors employed cell biology, biochemical reconstitutions, and molecular dynamics simulations to probe the interaction between polyunsaturated phospholipids and endocytic proteins. They found that polyunsaturated phospholipids enhance membrane responsiveness to curvature‑sensing and shaping proteins, increase plasma membrane deformability, promote endocytosis, and boost dynamin‑endophilin–mediated membrane fission in reconstituted systems. Science, p.

Abstract

Bending the benefits of polyunsaturated We have often heard that it is beneficial to eat polyunsaturated fatty acids. We also know that some organelles such as synaptic vesicles are extremely rich in polyunsaturated lipids. However, what polyunsaturated lipids do in our body is unclear. Using cell biology, biochemical reconstitutions, and molecular dynamics, Pinot et al. show that polyunsaturated phospholipids can change the response of membranes to proteins involved in membrane curvature sensing, membrane shaping, and membrane fission. Polyunsaturated phospholipids make the plasma membrane more amenable to deformation; facilitate endocytosis; and, in reconstitution experiments, increased membrane fission by the dynamin-endophilin complex. Science , this issue p. 693