Membrane Heterogeneity: Manifestation of a Curvature-Induced Microemulsion

Abstract: To explain the appearance of heterogeneities in the plasma membrane, I propose a hypothesis which begins with the observation that fluctuations in the membrane curvature are coupled to the difference between compositions in one leaf and the other. Because of this coupling, the most easily excited fluctuations can occur at non-zero wavenumbers. When the coupling is sufficiently strong, it is well-known that it leads to microphase separation and modulated phases. I note that when the coupling is less strong, the tendency towards modulation remains manifest in a liquid phase that exhibits transient structure of a characteristic size; that is, it is a microemulsion. The characteristic size of the fluctuating domains is estimated to be on the order of 100 nm, and experiments to verify this hypothesis are proposed.