#OPENACCESS: Tau protein differentially affects Piezo1 and Kir2.1 channels in brain capillary endothelial cells. Trevor Harriman and Osama F. Harraz. buff.ly/RZnqLJd
Biophysical Journal
@biophysj.bsky.social
The premier journal of quantitative biology and leading journal for molecular, cellular, and systems biophysics research. Editor-in-Chief: Vasanthi Jayaraman.
Read about the cover art for the newly released issue of Biophysical Journal on the BPS Blog: www.biophysics.org/blog/from-co...
From Colorful Folds to Chromatin Physics
At first glance, our cover image is simply colorful. But a closer look reveals something unusual. The model chromatin polymer is densely folded, but the colors—representing genomic position from one e...
biophysics.org
#OPENACCESS: VEGFR2 dimerization kinetics on the cell surface determined by microscopy and mathematical modeling. Jaime Guerrero, Zachariah Malik, Fnu Bilal, Soma Jana, Aparajita Dasgupta, and Khuloud Jaqaman.
VEGFR2 dimerization kinetics on the cell surface determined by microscopy and mathematical modeling
Inter-receptor interactions play a key role in cell signaling in response to external stimuli. For quantitative understanding and modeling of transmembrane signal transduction, it is necessary to…
cell.com
#OPENACCESS: Second harmonic imaging of membrane potentials: Comparing water and chromophores as probes. Iwona Swiderska, Seonwoo Lee, Mischa Flór, and Sylvie Roke.
Second harmonic imaging of membrane potentials: Comparing water and chromophores as probes
The electrostatic potential of lipid membranes is an important metric to gain insight into the physiological state of cells. Second harmonic (SH) imaging has emerged as a powerful tool to perform in…
cell.com
#OPENACCESS: Temperature dependence of the motility of the parasitic microswimmer Trypanosoma brucei. Hannes Wunderlich, Leon Schramm, Marinus Thein, Lucas Brehm, Klaus Ersfeld, and Matthias Weiss.
Temperature dependence of the motility of the parasitic microswimmer Trypanosoma brucei
The parasitic unicellular microswimmer Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent for severe diseases in humans and cattle. Trypanosomes have a complex life cycle with the best-characterized stages…
cell.com
Cancer cells don't invade like a single army—they're more like multiple escape-room teams, each testing different exits until one finds the fastest route. Understanding these invasion strategies could reveal where to lock the doors.
Invasion dynamics of multifocal breast tumor spheroids in three-dimensional extracellular matrix
Breast cancer in human patients often occurs as multifocal lesions, and the mechanisms through which primary tumors in proximity interact with each other is not well understood. Here, we study an in…
cell.com
Special issue call for papers: Physical Properties of Cells: From Measurement to Medicine, A Tribute to Jochen Guck.
biophysics.org
#OPENACCESS: Imagine navigating a crowded airport where the walls keep moving. Molecules face a similar challenge diffusing through fluctuating porous structures. Sometimes the maze itself is the biggest player in the journey. buff.ly/jc3F0ia
Diffusion through complex confining environments: Motion in fluctuating porous membrane structures
The transport of individual entities through interconnected structures is a process of practical relevance in both biology and technology. Examples are given by diffusive dynamics of molecules in…
cell.com
Fold-switching proteins carry the information required to change their conformations in the unfolded state itself, the MD simulation study finds.
Signatures of protein fold switching in the unfolded state
We have recently shown that, in simulations of unfolded globular proteins, the native contacts are distinguished by their mutual cooperativity, such that this can be used to identify native contact…
cell.com
Special issue call for papers: Single-Molecule Approaches to Reveal Structural and Mechanistic Properties of the Genome.
biophysics.org
#OPENACCESS: Curvature-based machine-learning method for automated segmentation of dendritic spines. Abdel Kader A. Geraldo, Michael A. Chirillo, Kristen M. Harris, and Thomas G. Fai.
Curvature-based machine-learning method for automated segmentation of dendritic spines
Recent advances in connectomics have been led by high-resolution reconstruction of large volumes of neural tissues using electron microscopy (EM), providing unprecedented insights into brain…
cell.com
New study combining computational modelling with experiments reveals how directionality bias in confined cell pairs can emerge and even reverse through intrinsic polarity, confinement, and cell-cell interactions.
Competing forces of polarization and adhesion modulate directional migration bias in a minimal model
Left-right axis specification establishes embryonic laterality through asymmetric signaling cascades originating at the cellular scale. A recent experiment reports the presence of a directionality…
cell.com
#OPENACCESS: ATP-driven membrane binding and polymerization of bacterial actin MreB promotes local membrane fluidization. Ingrid E. Adriaans, Ana Álvarez-Mena et al.
ATP-driven membrane binding and polymerization of bacterial actin MreB promotes local membrane fluidization
The bacterial actin homolog MreB plays a key role in rod cell shape determination. We recently showed that MreB from the Gram-positive bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilus (MreBGs) polymerizes…
cell.com
Sari et al. employ AFM experiments and elastic shell theory to simultaneously quantify cell stiffness and intracellular pressure in different cell lines, revealing how cortical actin organization shapes cellular mechanical behavior.
Simultaneous quantification of cell elasticity and internal pressure in adherent animal cells
Understanding the mechanical properties of animal cells is essential for fundamental biological processes. Two key quantities for these properties are the effective cell stiffness (E) and…
cell.com
#OPENACCESS: Dual chemotaxis strategy of bacteria in porous media: Run-time and turn-angle bias. Sönke Beier, Veronika Pfeifer, Agniva Datta, Robert Großmann, and Carsten Beta.
Dual chemotaxis strategy of bacteria in porous media: Run-time and turn-angle bias
Chemotaxis of bacterial swimmers that move in a run-and-turn pattern is well studied in uniform bulk fluid. It is primarily based on modulating the run time in dependence on the swimming direction…
cell.com
#OPENACCESS: Swimming patterns of a multi-mode bacterial swimmer in fluid shear flow. Valeriia Fast,Agniva Datta, Jeungeun Park, Robert Großmann, Veronika Pfeifer, Yongsam Kim,Wanho Lee, Sookkyung Lim, and Carsten Beta.
Special issue call for papers: Foundations of Membrane Biophysics: Dedicated to Wolfgang Helfrich.
biophysics.org
#OPENACCESS: Multivalency influences virus dynamics at the glycocalyx: A study of glycosaminoglycan binding in HPV16 entry. Dario Valter Conca, Fouzia Bano, Yara Abidine,Laura Soria Martinez, Kerstin Seier, Justas Svirelis, Andreas Dahlin, Mario Schelhaas, and Marta Bally.
Multivalency influences virus dynamics at the glycocalyx: A study of glycosaminoglycan binding in HPV16 entry
Virus attachment at the cell surface often involves the establishment of multiple ligand-receptor interactions between viral capsid proteins and glycans in the glycocalyx. Multivalency likely…
cell.com
In the New and Notable "Counting the unseen: Quantifying interactions between proteins from single-molecule imaging in live cells," Federico Sevlever and Valeria Levi highlight the paper "VEGFR2 dimerization kinetics on the cell surface determined by microscopy and mathematical..."
Counting the unseen: Quantifying interactions between proteins from single-molecule imaging in live cells
Virtually all biological processes rely on interactions between proteins. These interactions are frequently studied in vitro under conditions that differ substantially from those in living cells,…
cell.com
Lipid oxidation is not only composition dependent but if the lipid bilayer is more curved, it gets oxidized rapidly in response to oxidative stress.
Membrane curvature enhances oxidation within lipid bilayers in a composition-dependent manner
Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROSs) in cells results in oxidative stress, which can promote lipid oxidation in cellular membranes. This oxidation of membrane lipids accompanies…
cell.com
Fast et al. use fluorescence microscopy, semi-automated image analysis, and simulations to study how fluid shear flow shapes swimming motility of soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida, revealing that shear-induced alignment depends on swimming mode.
Lipid composition effects on the number and size of liposomes formed by the inverted emulsion method
Liposomes have been widely employed as membrane scaffolds in the construction of minimal cell models. In 2003, the inverted emulsion method was introduced as a novel technique for generating giant…
cell.com
Read about the cover art for the newly released issue of Biophysical Journal on the BPS Blog: buff.ly/48E3qc7
The Sticky Science of HPV16-glycan Interactions: How Multivalency Shapes Virus Dynamics at the Cell Surface
When approaching a cell, viruses encounter a complex cell-surface environment where they must engage receptors to initiate infection. Many viruses have evolved to exploit the “forest” of sugars…
biophysics.org
#OPENACCESS: Biophysical insights into a cryptic ligand site in the hydrophobic core of human PCNA. Alexis N. Dispensa, Sharon N. Greenwood, Jason Yang, Daniel E. Logatto, James Fusco, E. Railey White, Roderic G. Eckenhoff, Zhiwei Liu, and Brian P. Weiser.
Biophysical insights into a cryptic ligand site in the hydrophobic core of human PCNA
Proteins contain small pockets that form due to imperfections in residue packing or the rotational and conformational movement of amino acids. In this work, we used the fluorescent probe…
cell.com
Special issue call for papers: Fifty Years of Protein Dynamics: Celebrating Andy McCammon and the Evolution of Computational Biophysics.
biophysics.org
#OPENACCESS: Bacterial lipids traverse the hydrophobic groove of TamB. Yiechang Lin and Ben Corry.
Bacterial lipids traverse the hydrophobic groove of TamB
The double-membrane envelope of Gram-negative bacteria protects them against environmental stress and antibiotics. Phospholipids are a core component of the bacterial outer membrane (OM). However,…
cell.com
#OPENACCESS: Think of a bunk bed where the top and bottom sleepers refuse to match positions. Cell membrane layers can organize differently, revealing surprising "anti-registered" patterns. Membranes have more personality than we thought!
Quantifying interleaflet coupling of phase behavior and observing anti-registered phases in asymmetric lipid bilayers
Biological membranes are compositionally asymmetric, with distinct lipid mixtures in each leaflet, yet how this asymmetry influences lateral membrane organization remains poorly understood. Here, we…
cell.com
With or without Lamin-A: how telomere dynamics change. Hidalgo-Soria et al. track hundreds of chromatin loci in live cells, revealing how loss of Lamin-A leads to faster, more directed, and more coordinated telomere motion.
Telomeres in Lamin-A-depleted cells exhibit directed motion and dynamic coherence
Investigating the dynamics of chromatin loci and the factors that influence them provides valuable insights into the organization and functionality of the genome within the cell nucleus. We control…
cell.com
In the New and Notable "Perinuclear actin airbag protects the nucleus from shock," Allen P. Liu highlights the paper, "Transient Perinuclear Actin Rings Prevent Cell Aging and Apoptosis via Nuclear Mechanical Protection."
Perinuclear actin airbag protects the nucleus from shock
Humans have long sought protection against injury by adding a barrier around the body. Football players wear helmets to reduce head trauma during high-impact collisions. Airbags deploy to cushion…
cell.com