Lipid membrane domains control actin network viscoelasticity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Arnold, Daniel P., Takatori, Sho C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Arnold, Daniel P.
Takatori, Sho C.
author_facet Arnold, Daniel P.
Takatori, Sho C.
contents The mammalian cell membrane is embedded with biomolecular condensates of protein and lipid clusters, which interact with an underlying viscoelastic cytoskeleton network to organize the cell surface and mechanically interact with the extracellular environment. However, the mechanical and thermodynamic interplay between the viscoelastic network and liquid-liquid phase separation of 2-dimensional (2D) lipid condensates remains poorly understood. Here, we engineer materials composed of 2D lipid membrane condensates embedded within a thin viscoelastic actin network. The network generates localized anisotropic stresses that deform lipid condensates into triangular morphologies with sharp edges and corners, shapes unseen in 3D composite gels. Kinetic coarsening of phase-separating lipid condensates accelerates the viscoelastic relaxation of the network, leading to an effectively softer composite material over intermediate timescales. We dynamically manipulate the membrane composition to control the elastic-to-viscous crossover of the network. Such viscoelastic composite membranes may enable the development of coatings, catalytic surfaces, separation membranes, and other interfaces with tunable spatial organization and plasticity mechanisms.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_13218
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Lipid membrane domains control actin network viscoelasticity
Arnold, Daniel P.
Takatori, Sho C.
Soft Condensed Matter
The mammalian cell membrane is embedded with biomolecular condensates of protein and lipid clusters, which interact with an underlying viscoelastic cytoskeleton network to organize the cell surface and mechanically interact with the extracellular environment. However, the mechanical and thermodynamic interplay between the viscoelastic network and liquid-liquid phase separation of 2-dimensional (2D) lipid condensates remains poorly understood. Here, we engineer materials composed of 2D lipid membrane condensates embedded within a thin viscoelastic actin network. The network generates localized anisotropic stresses that deform lipid condensates into triangular morphologies with sharp edges and corners, shapes unseen in 3D composite gels. Kinetic coarsening of phase-separating lipid condensates accelerates the viscoelastic relaxation of the network, leading to an effectively softer composite material over intermediate timescales. We dynamically manipulate the membrane composition to control the elastic-to-viscous crossover of the network. Such viscoelastic composite membranes may enable the development of coatings, catalytic surfaces, separation membranes, and other interfaces with tunable spatial organization and plasticity mechanisms.
title Lipid membrane domains control actin network viscoelasticity
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.13218