Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mette Galsgaard Malle, Philipp M. G. Loeffler, Soren S-R Bohr, Magnus Berg Sletfjerding, Nikolaj Alexander Risgaard, Simon Bo Jensen, Min Zhang, Per Hedegard, Stefan Vogel, Nikos S. Hatzakis
Summary: In this study, a single-particle combinatorial multiplexed liposome fusion mediated by DNA is presented, enabling multistep and non-deterministic fusion of nanocontainers. Efficient and leakage-free stochastic fusion sequences were observed for arrays of target liposomes functionalized with individual DNA strands and labeled with distinct chromophores. The method allows high-throughput combinatorial multiplex screens using minimal material.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rodolphe Marie, Martin K. Rasmussen, Jonas N. Pedersen
Summary: Self-assembly of synthetic lipid vesicles via lipid membrane fusion is a versatile tool for creating biomimetic nano- and micron-sized particles. This work demonstrates DNA-induced liposome fusion in a nanofluidic trap where the reaction occurs in a 15 femtoliter volume at homogeneous mixing. The chip-based approach limits the amount of sample (down to 440 vesicles) and can be parallelized for systematic studies in synthetic biology, diagnostics, and drug delivery.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yang Zhou, Fei Zhao, Bo Zheng, Shihai Tang, Juan Gong, Bin He, Zhi Zhang, Na Jiang, Huijuan Zha, Jun Luo
Summary: This study develops a new electrochemical method for the feasible detection of cardiomyocyte-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) in biological fluids. The method employs a peptide-anchored biomimetic interface to achieve efficient and selective detection of target EVs. The results demonstrate a wide linear detection range and good performance in biological fluids.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Giorgia Brosio, Giulia Rossi, Davide Bochicchio
Summary: Membrane fusion in vitro is an important strategy to load vesicles with various substances. In this study, the authors used molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the mechanism of membrane fusion induced by gold nanoparticles. They found that the size of the nanoparticles affects the stability of the fusion process, providing valuable insights into the understanding of this phenomenon.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gyeongji Yoo, Yeon-Kyun Shin, Nam Ki Lee
Summary: Neuronal communication relies on regulated membrane fusion for neurotransmitter release, but presynaptic dysfunctions can occur in neurodegenerative diseases. Accumulation of a-Syn oligomers has been implicated in this pathway, affecting presynaptic fusion machinery. This article summarizes in vitro assays for investigating the role of a-Syn oligomers in synaptic vesicle fusion and proposes a therapeutic strategy targeting a-Syn oligomer toxicity.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Tun Naw Sut, Bo Kyeong Yoon, Won-Yong Jeon, Joshua A. Jackman, Nam-Joon Cho
Summary: Supported lipid bilayer (SLB) coatings, versatile cell-membrane-mimicking biointerfaces, have been expanded for medical and biotechnology applications, facilitating various studies and applications like biosensors, diagnostics, and antifouling surfaces.
APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Daniel Schmitt, Sueleyman Bozkurt, Pascale Henning-Domres, Heike Huesmann, Stefan Eimer, Laura Bindila, Christian Behrends, Emily Boyle, Florian Wilfling, Georg Tascher, Christian Muench, Christian Behl, Andreas Kern
Summary: We introduced a novel antibody-based FACS-mediated method for isolation of native macroautophagic/autophagic vesicles and performed phospholipidomic and proteomic analyses to characterize their lipid and cargo composition. The lipidomic analyses identified phosphoglycerides and sphingomyelins within autophagic vesicles, while the proteomic analyses identified over 4500 potential autophagy substrates. The results showed that the lipid composition was unaffected by different rates of autophagosome formation, but proteasome inhibition enhanced the degradation of ubiquitin-proteasome system components.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Boying Xu, Jinquan Ding, Adriano Caliari, Nan Lu, Fuhai Han, Yang Xia, Jian Xu, Tetsuya Yomo
Summary: Lipid giant vesicles are a versatile model system for studying the physicochemical basis of lipid membrane fusion. This study investigates the fusion of vesicles mediated by a photosensitive surfactant, AzoTAB, which can induce a conformational change through light. The results show that AzoTAB-induced fusion can be quantitatively analyzed and optimized, making it possible to create controllable synthetic cells with fundamental biological functions.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lado Otrin, Agata Witkowska, Nika Marusic, Ziliang Zhao, Rafael B. Lira, Fotis L. Kyrilis, Farzad Hamdi, Ivan Ivanov, Reinhard Lipowsky, Panagiotis L. Kastritis, Rumiana Dimova, Kai Sundmacher, Reinhard Jahn, Tanja Vidakovic-Koch
Summary: Replacing lipids with polymers can partially address the durability issue in artificial cells, and the study on SNARE-mediated fusion in synthetic amphiphile membranes has identified bending rigidity and pore edge tension as key parameters for fusion.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Pratik Kakade, Arkasubhro Chatterjee, Anjali Pandya, John Disouza, Vandana Patravale
Summary: Nanotechnology is an important field for formulation scientists, and lipidic nanosystems with surface modification using carbohydrates have attracted attention in drug delivery. These systems offer interesting properties and can be developed using various methods.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Lihua Jiang, Qiong Wang, Jincan Lei, Ke Tao, Jing Huang, Shixian Zhao, Ning Hu, Jun Yang
Summary: The mechanisms for the failure of GLV electroformation in salt solutions are mainly two aspects: sodium chloride accelerates the assembly of membranes and reduces the permeability to aqueous solution; Sodium chloride increases the medium conductivity and decreases the electrohydrodynamic force.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Jiajia Li, Xiawei Dang, Antonietta Franco, Gerald W. Dorn
Summary: Mitochondrial repair is crucial for metabolic homeostasis and the MFN2 protein plays a key role in regulating mitochondrial fusion and mitophagy. Our study reveals that the phosphorylation state of MFN2 can determine the fate of mitochondria by either promoting fusion or triggering mitophagy. PINK1 kinase is identified as the pivotal regulator of MFN2 functionality, while Parkin is dispensable for MFN2 inactivation.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jeel Raval, Ales Iglic, Wojciech Gozdz
Summary: The study investigates the adhesion of lipid vesicles to a rigid flat surface and examines the influence of membrane curvature, adhesion strength, and reduced volume on stability and shape transformations. It determines the minimum adhesion strength needed to stabilize adhered vesicle shapes and discusses how changes in adhesion strength can induce vesicle budding. The importance of free vesicle shape for adhesion susceptibility is also highlighted.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Rikhia Ghosh, Vahid Satarifard, Andrea Grafmueller, Reinhard Lipowsky
Summary: In this study, budding and fission processes of lipid nanovesicles with a size below 50 nm were reported using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The processes are influenced by solute concentration and solvent conditions, with budding being reversible and unexpected morphological transformations observed under poor solvent conditions. This reveals a nanoscale mechanism for the budding and fission of nanovesicles, arising from the interplay between membrane elasticity and solute-mediated membrane adhesion.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Houda Yasmine Ali Moussa, Kyung Chul Shin, Janarthanan Ponraj, Soo Jin Kim, Je-Kyung Ryu, Said Mansour, Yongsoo Park
Summary: Cholesterol is essential for neuronal activity and function, and its depletion impairs synaptic transmission. Through in vitro reconstitution experiments, it is shown that cholesterol is required for calcium-dependent vesicle fusion. Cholesterol strengthens synaptotagmin-1-induced membrane bending, lowering the energy barrier for fusion to occur.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Dashiel S. Grusky, Frank R. Moss, Steven G. Boxer
Summary: This study investigates the lateral heterogeneity of biological membranes using atomic recombination in dynamic nanoscale secondary ion imaging mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS). The findings support the presence of cholesterol condensation effect on lipid-lipid interactions and the existence of nanoscale GM1 clusters in model membranes.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Steven D. E. Fried, Chu Zheng, Yuezhi Mao, Thomas E. Markland, Steven G. Boxer
Summary: The ability to measure and control electric fields in enzymes and other complex reactive environments using the vibrational Stark effect has sparked interest in understanding the role of solute electronic structure in modifying the local solvent organization and electric field. This study demonstrates that amide-containing molecules experience larger frequency shifts in polar solvents compared to non-amide carbonyls due to the stronger p-pi conjugation and larger C=O bond dipole moments, resulting in larger solvent electric fields. The structural modifications of the solute can be used to tune both the solvent organization and electrostatic environment.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhe Ji, Jacek Kozuch, Irimpan I. Mathews, Christian S. Diercks, Yasmin Shamsudin, Mirjam A. Schulz, Steven G. Boxer
Summary: The widespread design of covalent drugs has traditionally focused on crafting reactive groups for targeted amino-acid nucleophiles. However, the influence of environmental electric fields on reactive chemical bonds has been overlooked as a design element. This study demonstrates the essential role of projected electric fields in the covalent inhibition of TEM-1 fi-lactamase by avibactam, providing new principles for covalent drug design and off-target site prediction.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhe Ji, Steven G. Boxer
Summary: Enzyme active sites can regulate the hydrolysis of covalent bonds through electric fields, affecting the development and overcoming of resistance. Over billions of years of evolution, the change in electric fields has increased the hydrolysis rate of covalent bonds by 5 orders of magnitude, a trend that continues in current antibiotic drug development. The electric field can be used as a unified physical metric to understand protein evolution and guide drug design.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Biographical-Item
Chemistry, Physical
Steven G. Boxer
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alisia Fadini, Christopher D. M. Hutchison, Dmitry Morozov, Jeffrey Chang, Karim Maghlaoui, Samuel Perrett, Fangjia Luo, Jeslyn C. X. Kho, Matthew G. Romei, R. Marc L. Morgan, Christian M. Orr, Violeta Cordon-Preciado, Takaaki Fujiwara, Nipawan Nuemket, Takehiko Tosha, Rie Tanaka, Shigeki Owada, Kensuke Tono, So Iwata, Steven G. Boxer, Gerrit Groenhof, Eriko Nango, Jasper J. van Thor
Summary: This study successfully visualizes the hula twist mechanism in a fluorescent protein and provides the first experimental evidence of the mechanism on a femtosecond-to-picosecond timescale. It also shows how chromophore isomerization and twisting lead to rearrangement of the protein's secondary structure.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Jacob M. Kirsh, Jacek Kozuch, Jared B. Weaver, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Steven D. E. Fried, Jacob M. Kirsh, Chu Zheng, Yuezhi Mao, Thomas E. Markland, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Dashiel S. Grusky, Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Khoi Tran, Kaitlyn Faries, Nikki Magdaong, Chris Kirmaier, Dewey Holten, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Chu Zheng, Zhe Ji, Irimpan I. Mathews, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Zhe Ji, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Isaac D. Falk, Noah Z. Burns, Steven G. Boxer
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Biophysics
Steven G. Boxer, Samuel H. Schneider, Jacek A. Kozuch
BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
(2022)