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Cells
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Advances in Biophysics of Cellular Membranes
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Advances in Biophysics of Cellular Membranes

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Biophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2025) | Viewed by 7336

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Péter Viktor Nagy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: FRET; lipid rafts; biophysical properties of the cell membrane; protein clustering; EGF receptor family; cell-penetrating peptides
Dr. György Vámosi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Interests: signaling and interactions of interleukin-2/15 and EGF receptors; intracrine signaling; nuclear receptor activation; FRET; fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane research has always been an interdisciplinary subject inviting and requiring biologists, physicists, and chemists to establish the fundamental principles of membrane structures and functions. This tenet is ever more relevant with the significant advancements in structural biological and computational tools, in which even a single experiment may require cooperation between scientists from different disciplines. The European Joint Theory/Experiment Meeting on Membranes (EJTEMM 2024 to be held at the University of Debrecen, Hungary between 12–14 June) is organized with the aforementioned principle in mind, covering a wide range of subjects of theoretical and experimental membrane research. Corresponding to the sessions of the meeting, reviews and original articles are invited for submission (not exclusively) in the following areas: membrane proteins, non-bilayer membrane structures, extracellular vesicles, membrane active/cell penetrating peptides, membrane mimetics, lipid–protein interactions, membrane curvature, and membrane dynamics. In addition to contributions from participants of the conference, manuscripts are welcome from other interested research groups. All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed. The deadline of manuscript submission is 20 April 2025.

Prof. Dr. Péter Viktor Nagy
Dr. György Vámosi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • experimental and theoretical membrane research
  • membrane proteins
  • non-bilayer membrane structures
  • extracellular vesicles
  • membrane active peptides
  • cell penetrating peptides
  • membrane mimetics
  • lipid–protein interactions
  • membrane curvature
  • membrane dynamics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1996 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Extracellular Particles Directly in Diluted Plasma and Blood by Interferometric Light Microscopy. A Study of 613 Human and 163 Canine Samples
by Boštjan Korenjak, Armando Tratenšek, Matevž Arko, Anna Romolo, Matej Hočevar, Matic Kisovec, Maxence Berry, Apolonija Bedina Zavec, David Drobne, Tomaž Vovk, Aleš Iglič, Alenka Nemec Svete, Vladimira Erjavec and Veronika Kralj-Iglič
Cells 2024, 13(24), 2054; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13242054 (registering DOI) - 12 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1423
Abstract
Extracellular nanoparticles (EPs) are a subject of increasing interest for their biological role as mediators in cell–cell communication; however, their harvesting and assessment from bodily fluids are challenging, as processing can significantly affect samples. With the aim of minimizing processing artifacts, we assessed [...] Read more.
Extracellular nanoparticles (EPs) are a subject of increasing interest for their biological role as mediators in cell–cell communication; however, their harvesting and assessment from bodily fluids are challenging, as processing can significantly affect samples. With the aim of minimizing processing artifacts, we assessed the number density (n) and hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of EPs directly in diluted plasma and blood using the following recently developed technique: interferometric light microscopy (ILM). We analyzed 613 blood and plasma samples from human patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), collected in trisodium citrate and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulants, and 163 blood and plasma samples from canine patients with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS). We found a highly statistically significant correlation between n in the plasma and n in the blood only in the human (i.e., but not canine) blood samples, between the samples with trisodium citrate and EDTA, and between the respective Dh for both species (all p < 10−3). In the human plasma, the average <Dh> was 139 ± 31 nm; in the human blood, <Dh> was 158 ± 11 nm; in the canine plasma, <Dh> was 155 ± 32 nm; and in the canine blood, <Dh> was 171 ± 33 nm. The differences within species were statistically significant (p < 10−2), with sufficient statistical power (P > 0.8). For <n>, we found no statistically significant differences between the human plasma and blood samples or between the samples with trisodium citrate and EDTA. Our results prove that measuring n and Dh of EPs in minimally processed fresh blood and in diluted fresh plasma by means of ILM is feasible for large populations of samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biophysics of Cellular Membranes)
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14 pages, 10549 KiB  
Article
The Effect of the Acid-Base Imbalance on the Shape and Structure of Red Blood Cells
by Snezhanna Kandrashina, Ekaterina Sherstyukova, Mikhail Shvedov, Vladimir Inozemtsev, Roman Timoshenko, Alexander Erofeev, Maxim Dokukin and Viktoria Sergunova
Cells 2024, 13(21), 1813; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13211813 - 3 Nov 2024
Viewed by 2417
Abstract
Red blood cells respond to fluctuations in blood plasma pH by changing the rate of biochemical and physical processes that affect the specific functions of individual cells. This study aimed to analyze the effect of pH changes on red blood cell morphology and [...] Read more.
Red blood cells respond to fluctuations in blood plasma pH by changing the rate of biochemical and physical processes that affect the specific functions of individual cells. This study aimed to analyze the effect of pH changes on red blood cell morphology and structure. The findings revealed that an increase or decrease in pH above or below the physiological level of pH 7.4 results in the transformation of discocytes into echinocytes and causes significant alterations in the membrane, including its roughness, cytoskeleton structure, and the cell’s elastic modulus. Furthermore, the study shown a strong connection between critical acidosis and alkalosis with increased intracellular reactive oxygen species production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biophysics of Cellular Membranes)
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12 pages, 2290 KiB  
Article
Mild Heat Stress Alters the Physical State and Structure of Membranes in Triacylglycerol-Deficient Fission Yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe
by Péter Gudmann, Imre Gombos, Mária Péter, Gábor Balogh, Zsolt Török, László Vígh and Attila Glatz
Cells 2024, 13(18), 1543; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13181543 - 13 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1487
Abstract
We investigated whether the elimination of two major enzymes responsible for triacylglycerol synthesis altered the structure and physical state of organelle membranes under mild heat shock conditions in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Our study revealed that key intracellular membrane structures, lipid [...] Read more.
We investigated whether the elimination of two major enzymes responsible for triacylglycerol synthesis altered the structure and physical state of organelle membranes under mild heat shock conditions in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Our study revealed that key intracellular membrane structures, lipid droplets, vacuoles, the mitochondrial network, and the cortical endoplasmic reticulum were all affected in mutant fission yeast cells under mild heat shock but not under normal growth conditions. We also obtained direct evidence that triacylglycerol-deficient cells were less capable than wild-type cells of adjusting their membrane physical properties during thermal stress. The production of thermoprotective molecules, such as HSP16 and trehalose, was reduced in the mutant strain. These findings suggest that an intact system of triacylglycerol metabolism significantly contributes to membrane protection during heat stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biophysics of Cellular Membranes)
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19 pages, 4045 KiB  
Article
Hydration- and Temperature-Dependent Fluorescence Spectra of Laurdan Conformers in a DPPC Membrane
by Stefan Knippenberg, Kathakali De, Christopher Aisenbrey, Burkhard Bechinger and Silvio Osella
Cells 2024, 13(15), 1232; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13151232 - 23 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1354
Abstract
The widely used Laurdan probe has two conformers, resulting in different optical properties when embedded in a lipid bilayer membrane, as demonstrated by our previous simulations. Up to now, the two conformers’ optical responses have, however, not been investigated when the temperature and [...] Read more.
The widely used Laurdan probe has two conformers, resulting in different optical properties when embedded in a lipid bilayer membrane, as demonstrated by our previous simulations. Up to now, the two conformers’ optical responses have, however, not been investigated when the temperature and the phase of the membrane change. Since Laurdan is known to be both a molecular rotor and a solvatochromic probe, it is subject to a profound interaction with both neighboring lipids and water molecules. In the current study, molecular dynamics simulations and hybrid Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics calculations are performed for a DPPC membrane at eight temperatures between 270K and 320K, while the position, orientation, fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence anisotropy of the embedded probes are monitored. The importance of both conformers is proven through a stringent comparison with experiments, which corroborates the theoretical findings. It is seen that for Conf-I, the excited state lifetime is longer than the relaxation of the environment, while for Conf-II, the surroundings are not yet adapted when the probe returns to the ground state. Throughout the temperature range, the lifetime and anisotropy decay curves can be used to identify the different membrane phases. The current work might, therefore, be of importance for biomedical studies on diseases, which are associated with cell membrane transformations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biophysics of Cellular Membranes)
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