2023
2.
Laeschkir Würthner; Andriy Goychuk; Erwin Frey
Geometry-induced patterns through mechanochemical coupling Journal Article
In: Physical Review E, vol. 108, no. 1, pp. 014404, 2023, ISSN: 2470-0045, 2470-0053.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Biological Self-Organization, Cell Membrane, Differential Equations, Finite-Element Method, Pattern Formation, Phase Space Methods, Protein Interaction Networks, Protein-Membrane Interactions
@article{wurthner_geometry-induced_2023,
title = {Geometry-induced patterns through mechanochemical coupling},
author = {Laeschkir Würthner and Andriy Goychuk and Erwin Frey},
url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.108.014404},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevE.108.014404},
issn = {2470-0045, 2470-0053},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-07-01},
urldate = {2026-05-29},
journal = {Physical Review E},
volume = {108},
number = {1},
pages = {014404},
abstract = {Intracellular protein patterns regulate a variety of vital cellular processes such as cell division and motility, which often involve dynamic cell-shape changes. These changes in cell shape may in turn affect the dynamics of pattern-forming proteins, hence leading to an intricate feedback loop between cell shape and chemical dynamics. While several computational studies have examined the rich resulting dynamics, the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. To elucidate some of these mechanisms, we explore a conceptual model for cell polarity on a dynamic one-dimensional manifold. Using concepts from differential geometry, we derive the equations governing mass-conserving reaction–diffusion systems on time-evolving manifolds. Analyzing these equations mathematically, we show that dynamic shape changes of the membrane can induce pattern-forming instabilities in parts of the membrane, which we refer to as regional instabilities. Deformations of the local membrane geometry can also (regionally) suppress pattern formation and spatially shift already existing patterns. We explain our findings by applying and generalizing the local equilibria theory of mass-conserving reaction–diffusion systems. This allows us to determine a simple onset criterion for geometry-induced pattern-forming instabilities, which is linked to the phase-space structure of the reaction–diffusion system. The feedback loop between membrane shape deformations and reaction–diffusion dynamics then leads to a surprisingly rich phenomenology of patterns, including oscillations, traveling waves, and standing waves, even if these patterns do not occur in systems with a fixed membrane shape. Our paper reveals that the local conformation of the membrane geometry acts as an important dynamical control parameter for pattern formation in mass-conserving reaction-diffusion systems.},
keywords = {Biological Self-Organization, Cell Membrane, Differential Equations, Finite-Element Method, Pattern Formation, Phase Space Methods, Protein Interaction Networks, Protein-Membrane Interactions},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Intracellular protein patterns regulate a variety of vital cellular processes such as cell division and motility, which often involve dynamic cell-shape changes. These changes in cell shape may in turn affect the dynamics of pattern-forming proteins, hence leading to an intricate feedback loop between cell shape and chemical dynamics. While several computational studies have examined the rich resulting dynamics, the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. To elucidate some of these mechanisms, we explore a conceptual model for cell polarity on a dynamic one-dimensional manifold. Using concepts from differential geometry, we derive the equations governing mass-conserving reaction–diffusion systems on time-evolving manifolds. Analyzing these equations mathematically, we show that dynamic shape changes of the membrane can induce pattern-forming instabilities in parts of the membrane, which we refer to as regional instabilities. Deformations of the local membrane geometry can also (regionally) suppress pattern formation and spatially shift already existing patterns. We explain our findings by applying and generalizing the local equilibria theory of mass-conserving reaction–diffusion systems. This allows us to determine a simple onset criterion for geometry-induced pattern-forming instabilities, which is linked to the phase-space structure of the reaction–diffusion system. The feedback loop between membrane shape deformations and reaction–diffusion dynamics then leads to a surprisingly rich phenomenology of patterns, including oscillations, traveling waves, and standing waves, even if these patterns do not occur in systems with a fixed membrane shape. Our paper reveals that the local conformation of the membrane geometry acts as an important dynamical control parameter for pattern formation in mass-conserving reaction-diffusion systems.
2019
1.
Andriy Goychuk; Erwin Frey
Protein Recruitment through Indirect Mechanochemical Interactions Journal Article
In: Physical Review Letters, vol. 123, no. 17, pp. 178101, 2019, ISSN: 0031-9007, 1079-7114.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Analytical Theory, Biomolecular Self-Assembly, Elastic Deformation, First Passage Problems, Mean Field Theory, Pattern Formation, Protein-Membrane Interactions, Protein-Protein Interactions
@article{goychuk_protein_2019,
title = {Protein Recruitment through Indirect Mechanochemical Interactions},
author = {Andriy Goychuk and Erwin Frey},
url = {https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.178101},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.178101},
issn = {0031-9007, 1079-7114},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-10-01},
urldate = {2026-05-29},
journal = {Physical Review Letters},
volume = {123},
number = {17},
pages = {178101},
abstract = {Some of the key proteins essential for important cellular processes are capable of recruiting other proteins from the cytosol to phospholipid membranes. The physical basis for this cooperativity of binding is, surprisingly, still unclear. Here, we suggest a general feedback mechanism that explains cooperativity through mechanochemical coupling mediated by the mechanical properties of phospholipid membranes. Our theory predicts that protein recruitment, and therefore also protein pattern formation, involves membrane deformation and is strongly affected by membrane composition.},
keywords = {Analytical Theory, Biomolecular Self-Assembly, Elastic Deformation, First Passage Problems, Mean Field Theory, Pattern Formation, Protein-Membrane Interactions, Protein-Protein Interactions},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Some of the key proteins essential for important cellular processes are capable of recruiting other proteins from the cytosol to phospholipid membranes. The physical basis for this cooperativity of binding is, surprisingly, still unclear. Here, we suggest a general feedback mechanism that explains cooperativity through mechanochemical coupling mediated by the mechanical properties of phospholipid membranes. Our theory predicts that protein recruitment, and therefore also protein pattern formation, involves membrane deformation and is strongly affected by membrane composition.