Christoph A. Haselwandter, University of Southern California

Library, A.2.500, Staudtstr. 2
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Abstract:

Over the past two decades, structural biology has provided enormous insight into the shape of membrane proteins, while experiments increasingly provide quantitative data on the structural organization of cell membranes from molecular length scales to length scales of hundreds of nanometers, revealing biological structure and function beyond single molecules. How do such new, biologically functional structures emerge from molecular interactions, and what key physical properties do these structures depend on? We show here that theoretical physics can explain quantitatively how new biological properties emerge from molecular interactions in cell membranes, providing us with a way to separate biologically relevant and irrelevant molecular features. Focusing on Piezo ion channels, we demonstrate how Piezo’s ability to respond to mechanical force emerges from the joint shape and mechanical properties of the Piezo-lipid bilayer system. Our results show that Piezo’s structure and function are inextricably tied to the cell membrane environment and composition through bending elastic forces. We suggest how these insights can be leveraged to understand and predict molecular mechanisms regulating the sensation of touch and other biological processes mediated by collections of molecules.