Related papers: Bcl-2 family controls mitochondrial outer membrane…
The work is devoted to the analysis of cell population dynamics where cells make a choice between differentiation and apoptosis. This choice is based on the values of intracellular proteins whose concentrations are described by a system of…
Cell crawling requires the generation of intracellular forces by the cytoskeleton and their transmission to an extracellular substrate through specific adhesion molecules. Crawling cells show many features of excitable systems, such as…
Maintenance of plasma IgM levels is critical for immune system function and homeostasis in humans and mice. However, the mechanisms that control homeostasis of the activated IgM-secreting B cells are unknown. After adoptive transfer into…
Non-processive molecular motors have to work together in ensembles in order to generate appreciable levels of force or movement. In skeletal muscle, for example, hundreds of myosin II molecules cooperate in thick filaments. In non-muscle…
A dynamic logic method was developed to analyze molecular networks of cells by combining Kauffman and Thomas's logic operations with molecular interaction parameters. The logic operations characterize the discrete interactions between…
Bacterial chemotaxis in Escherichia coli is a canonical system for the study of signal transduction. A remarkable feature of this system is the coexistence of precise adaptation in population with large fluctuating cellular behavior in…
Apoptotic cell death is coordinated through two distinct (type 1 and type 2) intracellular signaling pathways. How the type 1/type 2 choice is made remains a fundamental problem in the biology of apoptosis and has implications for apoptosis…
The application of systems and control theory to membrane physiology is presented here. Modeling efforts have focused on describing those physiologically realistic mechanisms which govern the regulation of membrane permeability in nerve.…
In this paper we use a continuous model to describe the development of a single cell lineage following the committal of stem cells. Three separate controls are implemented in the model, namely the proliferative control of stem cells, the…
It is known that rank-two bimolecular mass-action systems do not admit limit cycles. With a view to understanding which small mass-action systems admit oscillation, in this paper we study rank-two networks with bimolecular source complexes…
A number of biological processes, such as embryo development, cancer metastasis or wound healing, rely on cells moving in concert. The mechanisms leading to the emergence of coordinated motion remain however largely unexplored. Although…
We propose a mechanism of cell motility which is based on contraction and does not require protrusion. The contraction driven translocation of a cell is due to internal flow of the cytoskeleton generated by molecular motors. Each motor…
We demonstrate that characteristic nodules emerge in cultures of several malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) cell lines. Instead of excessive local cell proliferation, the nodules arise by Myosin II-driven cell contractility. The…
By combining X-ray diffraction studies under grazing incidence (GIXD) and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) measurements, we have precisely determined the structure of 8CB molecules adsorbed on MoS2, under the thick organic film. The…
Collective behaviors in cellular systems are regulated not only by biochemical signalling pathways but also by intercellular mechanical forces, whose quantification in contractile monolayers remains poorly understood. Here, by integrating…
Mechanosensitive (MS) channels are ion channels which act as cells' safety valves, opening when the osmotic pressure becomes too high and making cells avoid damage by releasing ions. They are found on the cellular membrane of a large number…
In this article we use all-atom simulations to elucidate the mechanisms underlying conformational switching and allostery within the coat protein of the bacteriophage MS2. Assembly of most icosahedral virus capsids requires that the capsid…
The mammalian adaptive immune system has evolved over millions of years to become an incredibly effective defense against foreign antigens. The adaptive immune system's humoral response creates plasma B cells and memory B cells, each with…
Molecular networks guide the biochemistry of a living cell on multiple levels: its metabolic and signalling pathways are shaped by the network of interacting proteins, whose production, in turn, is controlled by the genetic regulatory…
Interactions mediated by the cell membrane between inclusions, such as membrane proteins or antimicrobial peptides, play important roles in their biological activity. They also constitute a fascinating challenge for physicists, since they…