TY - JOUR
AU - Fenz, Susanne F.
AU - Bihr, Timo
AU - Schmidt, Daniel
AU - Merkel, Rudolf
AU - Seifert, Udo
AU - Sengupta, Kheya
AU - Smith, Ana-Sunčana
TI - Membrane fluctuations mediate lateral interaction between cadherin bonds
JO - Nature physics
VL - 13
SN - 1745-2481
CY - Basingstoke
PB - Nature Publishing Group
M1 - FZJ-2017-04189
SP - 906–913
PY - 2017
AB - The integrity of living tissues is maintained by adhesion domains of trans-bonds formed between cadherin proteins residing on opposing membranes of neighbouring cells. These domains are stabilized by lateral cis-interactions between the cadherins on the same cell. However, the origin of cis-interactions remains perplexing since they are detected only in the context of trans-bonds. By combining experimental, analytical and computational approaches, we identify bending fluctuations of membranes as a source of long-range cis-interactions, and a regulator of trans-interactions. Specifically, nanometric membrane bending and fluctuations introduce cooperative effects that modulate the affinity and binding/unbinding rates for trans-dimerization, dramatically affecting the nucleation and growth of adhesion domains. Importantly, this regulation relies on physical principles and not on details of protein–protein interactions. These omnipresent fluctuations can thus act as a generic control mechanism in all types of cell adhesion, suggesting a hitherto unknown physiological role for recently identified active fluctuations of cellular membranes.
LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000409235100026
DO - DOI:10.1038/nphys4138
UR - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/834206
ER -