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Biological membranes are complex assemblies of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates that maintain cellular integrity and homeostasis. Bacterial pore-forming toxins (PFTs) compromise the host cell membrane barrier by creating nanoscale pores. While membrane-mimetic models have been widely used to study PFT behaviour, their interactions with live cell membranes remain underexplored. This study investigates the pore-forming mechanism of YaxAB, a bipartite PFT from Yersinia enterocolitica, to elucidate its stepwise assembly and membrane disruption dynamics.

Potassium (K+) channels have been studied computationally since the late 1990s, yet a complete quantitative description of their permeation properties has not been achieved. One important metric to validate the computational models is to compare the calculated channel conductance with experiment. One approach to calculate the channel conductance is to carry out nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the presence of a membrane potential to determine the mean ionic current as a function of voltage.

Platelet accumulation following non-penetrating vessel injury exhibits a characteristic kinetic profile with initial formation of a large thrombus that subsequently shrinks to a smaller aggregate covering the injury. While the molecular mechanisms of platelet aggregation are well characterized, the physiological relevance of this transient large thrombus formation has never been studied. Using a low concentration FeCl3 model of the carotid artery we confirmed that arterial thrombus formation presented a peak-shape kinetic and ended by the formation of a small stable remaining aggregate.

Mechanical forces are central to biological function across scales, from whole organisms to individual molecules. At the cellular and subcellular levels, force generation, sensing, and mechanotransduction shape diverse processes including gene expression, morphogenesis, and disease progression. Single-molecule force spectroscopy provides critical insights into these mechanics, with magnetic tweezers (MT) emerging as a versatile tool with unique advantages. MT operate across physiologically relevant forces (∼0.01–100 pN) and enable stable, long-duration, and multiplexed measurements without photodamage, making them ideally suited to investigate proteins under near-native conditions.

Interaction with lipid membranes is important in the physiological and pathological functioning of α-synuclein (αS) in brain neuronal cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of lipid composition on the membrane-binding behavior of αS using multiple biophysical techniques. Circular dichroism measurement revealed that, although negatively charged phospholipids are necessary for αS to bind to small unilamellar vesicles, the presence of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) significantly enhances α-helical structure formation, specifically within the first 35 αS residues.

Margination is a physical phenomenon that describes the migration of cells and particles toward vessel walls in blood flow, and thus, serves as a necessary pre-condition for the adhesion of particles suspended in blood plasma to the endothelium. In the context of malaria, adhesion of infected red blood cells (iRBCs) to the endothelium is essential for the disease progression, as iRBCs have to evade the removal from the blood circulation in the spleen. Some malaria strains lead to the formation of rosettes, multicellular structures composed of one iRBC surrounded by several adhered healthy RBCs (hRBCs).

Cell migration is critical to leukocyte function, enabling leukocytes to patrol tissues and respond to inflammatory cues. Upstream migration is a distinct form of cell motility which enables leukocytes to move against the direction of fluid flow on Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) surfaces. Upstream migration is mediated by the leukocyte integrin, Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1 (LFA-1). While 1upstream migration has been observed across multiple immune cell types, the mechanical forces underlying upstream migration have not been measured.

Microorganisms are able to form structured aggregates, such as colonies, when they grow on a solid support. In contrast to suspended cultures, growth in these conditions varies in space and time. In some species including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, colonies reach dimensions that have been challenging to experimenters as they pose practical monitoring issues. In this study, optical coherence tomography (OCT) was employed to assess the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae colonies non-destructively for two weeks.

This review is part of a special memorial issue in honor of Erich Sackmann’s remarkable research career, in particular, on the biophysics of equilibrium and living membranes. Erich’s large body of discoveries firmly established him as a giant in the field of biophysics. In our review, we describe structural studies of microtubules (MTs) in the presence of the microtubule-associated protein (MAP) tau, an intrinsically disordered protein confined to the axon of mature neurons in vertebrates. We start with a brief review of experiments where the inherently dynamical MT is fixed with the cancer chemotherapy drug molecule paclitaxel (PTX).

Mitochondrial dynamics, including fission, fusion, and cristae remodeling, are fundamental eukaryotic adaptations that link organelle structure to cellular function and health. Disruptions in these processes lead to severe cellular dysfunctions and contribute to diverse pathologies, including neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic diseases, and accelerated aging (1). Mitochondrial populations within cells exhibit morphological and functional heterogeneity. This heterogeneity stems from multiple sources: genetic heterogeneity arises from uneven mtDNA distribution and differential transcription and translation rates across cellular compartments, leading to protein-level noise across individual organelles (Fig.

The compartmentalization of eukaryotic cells into membrane-bound organelles with specific subcellular positioning enables precise spatial and temporal control of cellular functions. Although functionally significant mitochondrial localization has been demonstrated in cells such as neurons, it remains unclear how general these cell principles are. Here, we examine the spatial organization of mitochondria within MIN6 pancreatic beta cells under variable glucose conditions. We observe glucose-dependent redistributions of mitochondria, favoring peripheral localization at elevated glucose levels.