Ion channels in critical membranes: clustering, cooperativity, and memory effects
Abstract
Much progress has been made in elucidating the inner workings of voltage-gated ion channels, but less understood is the influence of lipid rafts on gating kinetics. Here we propose that state-dependent channel affinity for different lipid species provides a unified explanation for the experimentally observed behaviors of clustering, cooperativity, and hysteresis. We develop models of diffusing lipids and channels engaged in Ising-like interactions to investigate the collective behaviors driven by raft formation in critical membranes close to the demixing transition. The model channels demonstrate lipid-mediated long-range interactions, activation curve steepening, and long-term memory in ionic currents. These behaviors likely play a role in channel-mediated cellular signaling and suggest a universal mechanism for self-organization of biomolecular assemblies.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2401.07660,
title = {Ion channels in critical membranes: clustering, cooperativity, and memory effects},
author = {Antonio Suma and Daniel Sigg and Seamus Gallagher and Giuseppe Gonnella and Vincenzo Carnevale},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.07660},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
14 pages, 6 figures