Attachment of Rod-Like (BAR) Proteins and Membrane Shape

Previous studies have shown that cellular function depends on rod-like membrane proteins, among them Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) proteins may curve the membrane leading to physiologically important membrane invaginations and membrane protrusions. The membrane shaping induced by BAR proteins has a major role in various biological processes such as cell motility and cell growth. Different models of binding of BAR domains to the lipid bilayer are described. The binding includes hydrophobic insertion loops and electrostatic interactions between basic amino acids at the concave region of the BAR domain and negatively charged lipids. To shed light on the elusive binding dynamics, a novel experiment is proposed to expand the technique of single-molecule AFM for the traction of binding energy of a single BAR domain

The prolate-to-oblate shape transition of phospholipid vesicles in response to frequency variation of an AC electric field can be explained by the dielectric anisotropy of a phospholipid bilayer

The external electric field deforms flaccid phospholipid vesicles into spheroidal bodies, with the rotational axis aligned with its direction. Deformation is frequency dependent: in the low frequency range (~ 1 kHz), the deformation is typically prolate, while increasing the frequency to the 10 kHz range changes the deformation to oblate. We attempt to explain this behaviour with a theoretical model, based on the minimization of the total free energy of the vesicle. The energy terms taken into account include the membrane bending energy and the energy of the electric field. The latter is calculated from the electric field via the Maxwell stress tensor, where the membrane is modelled as anisotropic lossy dielectric. Vesicle deformation in response to varying frequency is calculated numerically. Using a series expansion, we also derive a simplified expression for the deformation, which retains the frequency dependence of the exact expression and may provide a better substitute for the series expansion used by Winterhalter and Helfrich, which was found to be valid only in the limit of low frequencies. The model with the anisotropic membrane permittivity imposes two constraints on the values of material constants: tangential component of dielectric permittivity tensor of the phospholipid membrane must exceed its radial component by approximately a factor of 3; and the membrane conductivity has to be relatively high, approximately one tenth of the conductivity of the external aqueous medium.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte

Dynamic polarizability of rotating particles in electrorheological fluids

A rotating particle in electrorheological (ER) fluid leads to a displacement of its polarization charges on the surface which relax towards the external applied field ${\bf E}_0$, resulting in a steady-state polarization at an angle with respect to ${\bf E}_0$. This dynamic effect has shown to affect the ER fluids properties dramatically. In this paper, we develop a dynamic effective medium theory (EMT) for a system containing rotating particles of finite volume fraction. This is a generalization of established EMT to account for the interactions between many rotating particles. While the theory is valid for three dimensions, the results in a special two dimensional configuration show that the system exhibits an off-diagonal polarization response, in addition to a diagonal polarization response, which resembles the classic Hall effect. The diagonal response monotonically decreases with an increasing rotational speed, whereas the off-diagonal response exhibits a maximum at a reduced rotational angular velocity $\omega_0$ comparing to the case of isolated rotating particles. This implies a way of measurement on the interacting relaxation time. The dependencies of the diagonal and off-diagonal responses on various factors, such as $\omega_0$, the volume fraction, and the dielectric contrast, are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted to J. Phys. Chem.

CD152 (CTLA-4) Determines CD4 T Cell Migration In Vitro and In Vivo

BACKGROUND:Migration of antigen-experienced T cells to secondary lymphoid organs and the site of antigenic-challenge is a mandatory prerequisite for the precise functioning of adaptive immune responses. The surface molecule CD152 (CTLA-4) is mostly considered as a negative regulator of T cell activation during immune responses. It is currently unknown whether CD152 can also influence chemokine-driven T cell migration. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We analyzed the consequences of CD152 signaling on Th cell migration using chemotaxis assays in vitro and radioactive cell tracking in vivo. We show here that the genetic and serological inactivation of CD152 in Th1 cells reduced migration towards CCL4, CXCL12 and CCL19, but not CXCL9, in a G-protein dependent manner. In addition, retroviral transduction of CD152 cDNA into CD152 negative cells restored Th1 cell migration. Crosslinking of CD152 together with CD3 and CD28 stimulation on activated Th1 cells increased expression of the chemokine receptors CCR5 and CCR7, which in turn enhanced cell migration. Using sensitive liposome technology, we show that mature dendritic cells but not activated B cells were potent at inducing surface CD152 expression and the CD152-mediated migration-enhancing signals. Importantly, migration of CD152 positive Th1 lymphocytes in in vivo experiments increased more than 200% as compared to CD152 negative counterparts showing that indeed CD152 orchestrates specific migration of selected Th1 cells to sites of inflammation and antigenic challenge in vivo. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We show here, that CD152 signaling does not just silence cells, but selects individual ones for migration. This novel activity of CD152 adds to the already significant role of CD152 in controlling peripheral immune responses by allowing T cells to localize correctly during infection. It also suggests that interference with CD152 signaling provides a tool for altering the cellular composition at sites of inflammation and antigenic challenge

Neuroimmune crosstalk in the central nervous system and its significance for neurological diseases

The central nervous system (CNS) is now known to actively communicate with the immune system to control immune responses both centrally and peripherally. Within the CNS, while studies on glial cells, especially microglia, have highlighted the importance of this cell type in innate immune responses of the CNS, the immune regulatory functions of other cell types, especially neurons, are largely unknown. How neuroimmune cross-talk is homeostatically maintained in neurodevelopment and adult plasticity is even more elusive. Inspiringly, accumulating evidence suggests that neurons may also actively participate in immune responses by controlling glial cells and infiltrated T cells. The potential clinical application of this knowledge warrants a deeper understanding of the mutual interactions between neurons and other types of cells during neurological and immunological processes within the CNS, which will help advance diagnosis, prevention, and intervention of various neurological diseases. The aim of this review is to address the immune function of both glial cells and neurons, and the roles they play in regulating inflammatory processes and maintaining homeostasis of the CNS.Peer reviewe

Verfahren und Anordnung zum elektrischen Kontaktieren eines membranumhuellten Objekts mit einer Elektrode

DE 102007019842 A1 UPAB: 20081217 NOVELTY - The procedure for electrically contacting a membrane-covered object e.g. biological cells (30) or tissues, with an electrode (10) for researching electric stimulation and repulsion of electric signals from the object, comprises arranging nanoneedles on a conductive carrier of the electrode. The needles adjoining on the carrier with one another have an interval that is smaller than the size of the object, which is in contact with the nanoneedles. The biological cell, biological tissue, liposome, lipid film or product with multilamellar construction is contacted as the object. DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The procedure for electrically contacting a membrane-covered object e.g. biological cells (30) or tissues, with an electrode (10) for researching electric stimulation and repulsion of electric signals from the object, comprises arranging nanoneedles on a conductive carrier of the electrode. The needles adjoining on the carrier with one another have an interval that is smaller than the size of the object, which is in contact with the nanoneedles. The biological cell, biological tissue, liposome, lipid film or product with multilamellar construction is contacted as the object. The nanoneedles are distributed on the carrier in a section by electrodes in stochastic manner and in another section. The nanoneedles are non-conductive or bad conductive as the carrier and possess a diameter of 10-1200 nm, and a length of 100-20 micrometer. A probe-tip with nanoneedle arrays is used as the electrode. The object is coupled on two electrodes provided with the nanoneedles. The cells are grown up on the electrode in contacting frame. The electrode forms a component of neuro-sensor chips. The nanoneedles form a nanolawn on the carrier. The nanolawn is produced under use of nanoimprint technology, semiconductor technology and/or electrolytic separation. USE - The procedure for electrically contacting a membrane-covered object e.g. biological cells or tissues, with an electrode for researching electric stimulation and repulsion of electric signals from the object. ADVANTAGE - The procedure ensures the electrical contacting of membrane-covered object with an electrode without damaging the object with high precision and to reach maximum low-impedance coupling between the cells and/or tissues and the conductive electrode