# Plasma membrane stress response

> **NIH NIH R01** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2024 · $308,308

## Abstract

Project Summary
The plasma membrane experiences many cellular and environmental changes in form of
increasing or decreasing membrane tension. Events such as cytokinesis, cell differentiation,
migration, and metabolic changes all affect volume to surface area ratios and thus plasma
membrane tension. Therefore, an increasing number of studies identify changes in membrane
tension as a common signal for the cellular status. This signal affects cytoskeleton, ion channels,
and cell signaling and thus is able to coordinate cellular response pathways. A goal of cellular
stress response is to reestablish normal membrane tension, which is important to maintain cell
integrity and functionality of systems associated with the plasma membrane. How eukaryotic cells
sense and maintain membrane tension is poorly understood. We started to address these
questions by analyzing the response of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to dramatic changes in
osmolarity of the growth medium, a stress that is commonly encountered in the natural
environment of this unicellular organism. Within seconds, osmotic stress can change the surface
area of yeast by +/-20%, a change that suggests rapid addition or removal of membrane to/from
the surface. Our data indicate that this rapid membrane flux is mediated by the ER-plasma
membrane contact sites (EPCS). Current models implicate the EPCS in the shuttling of lipids
between the two membranes, a transport activity that can explain our observations during cell
shrinking. However, rapid cell expansion seems to require an additional mechanism, the fusion
of the ER with the plasma membrane at contact sites. This proposed fusion allows not only for
rapid membrane transport to the plasma membrane, but it also might be able to deliver within
seconds stress-response proteins from the ER to the cell surface.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10777524
- **Project number:** 1R01GM152758-01
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** MARKUS BABST
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $308,308
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10777524

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10777524, Plasma membrane stress response (1R01GM152758-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10777524. Licensed CC0.

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