Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe
BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 16: Membranes, Vesicles and Synthetic Life-like Systems II
BP 16.2: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 11. März 2026, 10:00–10:15, BAR/0205
Phase separation driven by membrane binding of receptor proteins of different size — •Samuel S. Gomez1, Lennart Kleinschmidt2, Daxiao Sun2, Alf Honigmann2, and Christoph Weber1 — 1Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Materials Engineering, Institute of Physics, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany — 2Technische Universität Dresden, Biotechnologisches Zentrum, Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering (CMCB), Dresden, Germany
We aim to understand the physical mechanisms governing the spatial organisation and assembly of adherens junctions (AJs). A key open question is how size differences in the extracellular domains of AJ receptor proteins contribute to their segregation during junction formation. To address this, we develop a theoretical model of receptor-mediated adhesion between a GUV and a SLB, using both simulations and an experimental in-vitro setup to test and refine our model. Our model suggests that differences in receptor length are sufficient to drive spatial segregation, even in the absence of cis-interactions with similar adhesion affinities. We extend our model to understand the link between spatial organisation at the mesoscopic level of receptor segregation at membrane adhesion contact sites to the macroscopic heterogenous organisation of receptor proteins on the GUV. Our model aims to provide new insights into the physical principles underlying AJ assembly, in particular spatial organisation of receptor proteins on the mesoscopic and macroscopic level of the membrane within the AJ complex.
Keywords: apical junctional complex; phase separation; tight junctions; giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV); membranes