Biomedical subjects

Karin John

Publications and source records attributed to Karin John.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Alternative mechanisms of structuring biomembranes: self-assembly versus self-organization.

We study two mechanisms for the formation of protein patterns near membranes of living cells by mathematical modelling. Self-assembly of protein domains by electrostatic lipid-protein interactions is contrasted with self-organization due to a nonequilibrium biochemical reaction cycle of proteins near the membrane. While both processes lead eventually to quite similar patterns, their evolution occurs on very different length and time scales. Self-assembly produces periodic protein patterns on a spatial scale below 0.1 microm in a few seconds followed by extremely slow coarsening, whereas self-organization results in a pattern wavelength comparable to the typical cell size of 100 microm within a few minutes suggesting different biological functions for the two processes.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2005

Travelling lipid domains in a dynamic model for protein-induced pattern formation in biomembranes.

Cell membranes are composed of a mixture of lipids. Many biological processes require the formation of spatial domains in the lipid distribution of the plasma membrane. We have developed a mathematical model that describes the dynamic spatial distribution of acidic lipids in response to the presence of GMC proteins and regulating enzymes. The model encompasses diffusion of lipids and GMC proteins, electrostatic attraction between acidic lipids and GMC proteins as well as the kinetics of membrane attachment/detachment of GMC proteins. If the lipid-protein interaction is strong enough, phase separation occurs in the membrane as a result of free energy minimization and protein/lipid domains are formed. The picture is changed if a constant activity of enzymes is included into the model. We chose the myristoyl-electrostatic switch as a regulatory module. It consists of a protein kinase C that phosphorylates and removes the GMC proteins from the membrane and a phosphatase that dephosphorylates the proteins and enables them to rebind to the membrane. For sufficiently high enzymatic activity, the phase separation is replaced by travelling domains of acidic lipids and proteins. The latter active process is typical for nonequilibrium systems. It allows for a faster restructuring and polarization of the membrane since it acts on a larger length scale than the passive phase separation. The travelling domains can be pinned by spatial gradients in the activity; thus the membrane is able to detect spatial clues and can adapt its polarity dynamically to changes in the environment.

Biophysics↗

PubMed2004

Dynamical model for chemically driven running droplets.

We propose coupled evolution equations for the thickness of a liquid film and the density of an adsorbate layer on a partially wetting solid substrate. Therein, running droplets are studied assuming a chemical reaction underneath the droplets that induces a wettability gradient on the substrate and provides the driving force for droplet motion. Two different regimes for moving droplets--reaction-limited and saturated regime--are described. They correspond to increasing and decreasing velocities with increasing reaction rates and droplet sizes, respectively. The existence of the two regimes offers a natural explanation of prior experimental observations.

Diffusion↗

PubMed2002

Rapid transbilayer movement of the fluorescent sterol dehydroergosterol in lipid membranes.

This study establishes a new assay for measuring the transbilayer movement of dehydroergosterol (DHE) in lipid membranes. The assay is based on the rapid extraction of DHE by methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (M-CD) from liposomes. The concentration of DHE in the liposomal membrane was measured by using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from DHE to dansyl-phosphatidylethanolamine, which is not extracted from liposomes by M-CD. The method was applied to small (SUV) and large (LUV) unilamellar vesicles of different compositions and at various temperatures. From the kinetics of FRET changes upon extraction of DHE from membranes, rates of M-CD mediated extraction and flip-flop of DHE could be deduced and were found to be dependent on the physical state of the lipid phase. For egg phosphocholine and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine in the liquid-crystalline state, halftimes of extraction and transbilayer movement were <5 s and approximately 20-50 s, respectively, at 10 degrees C. For 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine-SUV being in the gel state at 10 degrees C, the respective halftimes were 28 s and 5-8 min. Surprisingly, DHE could not be extracted from LUV consisting of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. This might be an indication of specific interactions between DHE molecules in membranes depending on the phospholipid composition of the membrane.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

PubMed2002

Transbilayer movement of phospholipids at the main phase transition of lipid membranes: implications for rapid flip-flop in biological membranes.

The transbilayer movement of fluorescent phospholipid analogs in liposomes was studied at the lipid phase transition of phospholipid membranes. Two NBD-labeled analogs were used, one bearing the fluorescent moiety at a short fatty acid chain in the sn-2 position (C(6)-NBD-PC) and one headgroup-labeled analog having two long fatty acyl chains (N-NBD-PE). The transbilayer redistribution of the analogs was assessed by a dithionite-based assay. We observed a drastic increase of the transbilayer movement of both analogs at the lipid phase transition of DPPC (T(c) = 41 degrees C) and DMPC (T(c) = 23 degrees C). The flip-flop of analogs was fast at the T(c) of DPPC with a half-time (t(1/2)) of ~6-10 min and even faster at the T(c) of DMPC with t(1/2) on the order of <2 min, as shown for C(6)-NBD-PC. Suppressing the phase transition by the addition of cholesterol, the rapid transbilayer movement was abolished. Molecular packing defects at the phase transition are assumed to be responsible for the rapid transbilayer movement. The relevance of those defects for understanding of the activity of flippases is discussed.

1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine↗