Membrane biophysics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bacteria and archaea use tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporters to import essential nutrients. Davies et al. report a high resolution structure of a TRAP and show that it uses an ‘elevator-with-an operator’ mechanism.

    • James S. Davies
    • , Michael J. Currie
    •  & Renwick C. J. Dobson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this work, the authors investigate on how condensate droplets, arising from liquid-liquid phase separation, can be engulfed by nanovesicles via distinct pathways, leading to different vesicle-droplet morphologies. Two key parameters are the stress asymmetry of the vesicle membrane and the line tension of the contact line between vesicle and droplet.

    • Rikhia Ghosh
    • , Vahid Satarifard
    •  & Reinhard Lipowsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The potassium channel selectivity filter is responsible for conduction and selectivity of K + over other cations. Here, the authors use a combination of single molecule FRET, non-canonical fluorescent amino acid incorporation, and single channel patch-clamp electrophysiology, to establish the generality of K + -induced SF conformational stability across the K + channel superfamily.

    • Marcos Matamoros
    • , Xue Wen Ng
    •  & Colin G. Nichols

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CLC-type channels selectively transport Cl− across biological membranes, but it is unclear how discrimination between anions is maintained. Here, authors use a combination of non-natural amino acid substitutions, electrophysiology, and molecular dynamics simulations to determine Cl− specificity within this family of ion channels.

    • Lilia Leisle
    • , Kin Lam
    •  & Alessio Accardi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    This study demonstrates that the curvature of the cell membrane directly regulates the spatial distribution of Piezo1, a widely expressed mechanosensitive ion channel. Piezo1 may flatten upon activation and can mechanically inhibit membrane dynamics

    • Shilong Yang
    • , Xinwen Miao
    •  & Zheng Shi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    TMEM16F is a dual ion channel and lipid scramblase that is involved in blood coagulation and cell fusion. Here, authors elucidate how the protein is activated by Ca2+ to accomplish both functions in a single protein conformation.

    • Melanie Arndt
    • , Carolina Alvadia
    •  & Raimund Dutzler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gi/o protein-coupled receptors (Gi/o-GPCRs) limit β-cell insulin secretion by decreasing Ca2+ entry; however, the underlying mechanism has not been identified. Here, the authors show that Gi/o-GPCRs hyperpolarize mouse and human β-cell membrane potential by activating Na+/K+ATPases.

    • Matthew T. Dickerson
    • , Prasanna K. Dadi
    •  & David A. Jacobson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Binary toxin translocation system consists of an enzymatic subunit and translocation pore. Here, the authors report the high-resolution cryo-EM structure of Clostridioides difficile binary toxin, comprising ADP-ribosyltransferase CDTa bound to the CDTb pore and revealing translocational unfolding of CDTa in the CDTb-pore.

    • Akihiro Kawamoto
    • , Tomohito Yamada
    •  & Hideaki Tsuge

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Constructing a minimal protein machinery for self-division of membrane compartments is a major goal of bottom-up synthetic biology. Here, authors achieved the assembly, placement and onset of contraction of a minimal division ring in lipid vesicles.

    • Shunshi Kohyama
    • , Adrián Merino-Salomón
    •  & Petra Schwille

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alpha-helix nanopores have a range of potential applications and the inclusion of non-natural amino acids allows for modification. Here, the authors report on the creation of alpha-helix pores using D-amino acids and show the pores formed, have different properties to the L-counterparts and were resistant to proteases.

    • Smrithi Krishnan R
    • , Kalyanashis Jana
    •  & Kozhinjampara R. Mahendran

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Membrane fusion is essential for cellular entry of enveloped viruses. Here, authors use time-resolved cryo-electron tomography and subtomogram averaging to capture 3D organization and population evolution of intermediates during membrane fusion of CHIKV, a medically important alphavirus.

    • Vidya Mangala Prasad
    • , Jelle S. Blijleven
    •  & Kelly K. Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bestrophin channels are critical for physiology of the eye. Here, authors report cryo-EM structures of human bestrophins in various states at up to 1.8 Å resolution, revealing paralog-specific features that underlie molecular mechanisms of permeation.

    • Aaron P. Owji
    • , Jiali Wang
    •  & Tingting Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MUC1 is a heavily glycosylated protein on the cell surface. Here the authors show that MUC1 prefers negative over positive membrane curvature due to its bulky size, enabling MUC1 to avoid endocytosis and surface removal based on curvature preference.

    • Chih-Hao Lu
    • , Kayvon Pedram
    •  & Bianxiao Cui

  • Article
    | Open Access

    TMEM16A, a calcium-activated chloride channel involved in multiple cellular processes, is implicated in various diseases, but its pharmacology remains poorly understood. Here, the authors combine cryo-EM and electrophysiology to elucidate the mechanism of TMEM16A inhibition by the pore blocker 1PBC.

    • Andy K. M. Lam
    • , Sonja Rutz
    •  & Raimund Dutzler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Voltage-gated sodium channels mediate electrical signaling. Here, authors report the cryo-EM structure of NaVEh from the marine plant Emiliania huxleyi, revealing an unexpected mechanism of N-type fast inactivation.

    • Jiangtao Zhang
    • , Yiqiang Shi
    •  & Daohua Jiang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protein kinase Cs (PKCs) define a central DAG-sensing node in intracellular phosphoinositide signaling pathways that regulate cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and motility. The structures of PKC C1 domain complexes with DAG and 4 agonists reveal the molecular basis of ligand recognition and capture.

    • Sachin S. Katti
    • , Inna V. Krieger
    •  & Tatyana I. Igumenova

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Snf7 is the major component of the ESCRTIII membrane deformation system. Here, the authors used high-speed AFM to study Snf7 on nano-patterned and soft supports and show that loaded Snf7 spiral springs are curvature sensitive and deform membranes.

    • Nebojsa Jukic
    • , Alma P. Perrino
    •  & Simon Scheuring

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct information on the dynamic interplay between membrane proteins and lipids is scarce. Here the authors report a detailed description of these close relationships by combining lipid nanodiscs and high-pressure NMR. They report the link between pressure and lipid compositions to the conformational landscape of the β-barrel OmpX and the α-helical BLT2 G Protein-Coupled Receptor in nanodiscs.

    • Alexandre Pozza
    • , François Giraud
    •  & Laurent J. Catoire

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Constriction of the selectivity filter is assumed to be a hallmark of C-type inactivation in K+ channels. Using different high-resolution methods, this study shows a distinct C-type inactivation mechanism in a KcsA mutant that emulates Kv-channels.

    • Ahmed Rohaim
    • , Bram J. A. Vermeulen
    •  & Markus Weingarth

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rotor-like dynamics is observed in many natural systems, from the rotor proteins in cellular membranes to atmospheric models. Here, the authors uncover geometrical conservation laws that limit distribution of driven rotors in a membrane or a soap film and allow to predict their structural states.

    • Naomi Oppenheimer
    • , David B. Stein
    •  & Michael J. Shelley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present a strategy to construct dynamic biomolecular landscapes. Here, they derive a quantitative description of the distribution timescales and amplitudes of reorientational motion of POPC membranes from the combination of NMR relaxation data and frame analysis of MD simulations.

    • Albert A. Smith
    • , Alexander Vogel
    •  & Daniel Huster

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors use high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) methods to characterize the single molecule kinetics of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin (bR) with millisecond temporal resolution, providing new insights into the bR conformational cycle.

    • Alma P. Perrino
    • , Atsushi Miyagi
    •  & Simon Scheuring

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The insertion and folding nascent or fully synthesized polypeptides into membranes is assisted by insertases. Here, the authors use a range of biophysical approaches to provide molecular details of how the transmembrane insertase YidC facilitates the insertion a protein into a phospholipid membrane.

    • Pawel R. Laskowski
    • , Kristyna Pluhackova
    •  & Daniel J. Müller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The venom of Latrodectus spiders contains seven Latrotoxins (LaTXs), among them α-latrocrustatoxin (LCT) and δ- latroinsectotoxins δ-LIT. LaTXs bind to specific receptors on the surface of neuronal cells and target the molecular exocytosis machinery. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structure of the α-LCT monomer and the δ-LIT dimer, which reveal that LaTXs are organized in four domains and they discuss the potential oligomerisation mechanism that takes place before LaTXs membrane insertion. Both recombinant α-LCT and δ-LIT form channels in artificial membrane bilayers, that are stabilized by Ca2+ ions.

    • Minghao Chen
    • , Daniel Blum
    •  & Christos Gatsogiannis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fusion of cellular membranes begins with the formation of a stalk. Here, the authors develop a computationally efficient method for coarse-grained simulations of stalk formation and apply this approach to comprehensively analyse how stalk formation is influenced by the membrane lipid composition.

    • Chetan S. Poojari
    • , Katharina C. Scherer
    •  & Jochen S. Hub

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Amphiphysin BAR proteins reshape membranes, but the dynamics of the process remained unexplored. Here, the authors show through experiment and modelling that reshaping depends on the initial template shape, occurs even at low initial curvature, and involves the coexistence of isotropic and nematic states.

    • Anabel-Lise Le Roux
    • , Caterina Tozzi
    •  & Pere Roca-Cusachs

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lysine acetylation regulates the function of soluble proteins in vivo, yet it remains largely unexplored whether lysine acetylation regulates the function of membrane proteins. Here, the authors map lysine acetylation predominantly in membrane-interaction regions in peripheral membrane proteins and show with three candidate proteins how lysine acetylation is a regulator of membrane protein function.

    • Alan K. Okada
    • , Kazuki Teranishi
    •  & Ralf Langen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ghrelin is a central orexigenic peptide hormone in human energy homeostasis that is also known as ‘hunger hormone’ and signals through its GPCR, GHSR. Here, the authors present the cryo-EM structures of the human GHSR-Gi signaling complex with bound ghrelin and the synthetic non-peptide agonist ibutamoren that are of interest for drug design.

    • Heng Liu
    • , Dapeng Sun
    •  & Cheng Zhang

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