Biophysical Journal

The ability of single-chain bolalipids (or bolaamphiphiles) to self-assemble into vesicular structures remains poorly characterized. Here, we report the synthesis and self-assembly behavior of a new class of proline-based single-chain lipids, a symmetric bipolar molecule (2Pro-C18:1) and, for comparison, a unipolar analogue (1Pro-C18:1), both bearing an unsaturated C18 hydrocarbon chain. Confocal…

The "neck" region of kinesin is a structurally conserved element critical for force generation, stepping directionality, and cargo transport along microtubules, yet its atomic-scale structure in a functional context remains unresolved. Here, we employ all-atom replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations to resolve a high-confidence neck-region conformation of the dimeric human kinesin-1 bound…

Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality. Multidisciplinary studies probe its complex pathology to increase treatment options. Computational modeling of tumor growth on high-performance computing resources offers microscopic insight into its progress and a valuable avenue for advancing our understanding. However, the effective initialization and parameterization of the underlying models requir…

In desmin-related cardiomyopathy, cellular stresses cause desmin to cleave and aggregate in vivo. Cleaved desmin fragments are amyloidogenic and induce misfolding, aggregation, and amyloid fibril formation of full-length wild type desmin. Alongside this disease condition, cells overexpress αB-crystallin and heat shock protein (HSP) 27 as cardioprotective chaperones. Chaperone proteins may refold,…

Amyloid fibrils are highly ordered protein aggregates that, beyond their pathological roles, are increasingly recognized as functional structures in food systems. κ-casein is a particularly interesting model due to its dual relevance: it stabilizes casein micelles in milk but can also form amyloid fibrils under destabilizing conditions. In this work, we investigate how the food-grade osmolyte sor…

Homeodomain transcription factors (TFs) recognize their DNA targets through both sequence-specific base contacts and readout of local DNA shape. While intrinsic DNA structure is encoded by nucleotide sequence, it also undergoes protein-induced structural deformation upon binding. Yet, the interplay between intrinsic and protein-induced DNA shape remains unclear. Here, we dissect how these two rea…

Bifurcations are a crucial part of the mammalian microvasculature, as they establish the interface between blood and tissue. The flexibility of red blood cells (RBCs), the main cellular constituent of blood, is believed to strongly impact their partitioning, quantitative in vivo measurements have so far been elusive. This study investigates the effect of cell rigidity on the lateral movement afte…

In the late 20th century, calcium took on the identity of an independent fusogen, when it was found to induce fusion of anionic large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs), yet its ability to drive fusion in cell-sized membranes remains poorly understood. Here, we directly quantify calcium-mediated fusion of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) using a microfluidic trapping platform combined with confocal mic…