Permeability of the embedded protein compartments in membranes


  Yulia Sokolov  ,  Haim Diamant  
Tel Aviv University

Biomembranes are highly viscous fluids consisting of amphiphilic lipid bilayers. Embedded proteins, anchored to the cytoskeleton, influence the diffusion and dynamics within the membrane. It was found that these immobile  inclusions create ring-like compartments, described by Kusumi as pickets and fences. We model these compartments as an assembly of objects in a ring, and calculate the permeability of the ring using two-dimensional Green’s function for hydrodynamic interactions. In the continuum limit, we derive analytical formula for permeability of the fence in a membrane. We compare the numerical results of discrete summation, and analytical results in the continuum limit, obtaining a perfect agreement.