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Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells

The origin of nonlinear responses in cells has been suggested to be crucial for various cell functions including the propagation of the nervous impulse. In physics, nonlinear behavior often originates from phase transitions. Evidence for such transitions on the single-cell level, however, has so far...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Fedosejevs, Carina S., Schneider, Matthias F.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: National Academy of Sciences 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8872731/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35165183
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117521119
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author Fedosejevs, Carina S.
Schneider, Matthias F.
author_facet Fedosejevs, Carina S.
Schneider, Matthias F.
author_sort Fedosejevs, Carina S.
collection PubMed
description The origin of nonlinear responses in cells has been suggested to be crucial for various cell functions including the propagation of the nervous impulse. In physics, nonlinear behavior often originates from phase transitions. Evidence for such transitions on the single-cell level, however, has so far not been provided, leaving the field unattended by the biological community. Here, we demonstrate that single cells of a human neuronal cell line display all optical features of a sharp, highly nonlinear phase transition within their membrane. The transition is reversible and does not originate from protein denaturation. Triggered by temperature and modified by pH here, a thermodynamic approach strongly suggests that similar nonlinear state changes can be induced by other variables such as calcium or mechanical stress. At least in lipid membranes, such state changes are accompanied by significant changes in permeability, enzyme activity, elastic, and electrical properties.
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spelling pubmed-88727312022-08-14 Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells Fedosejevs, Carina S. Schneider, Matthias F. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Physical Sciences The origin of nonlinear responses in cells has been suggested to be crucial for various cell functions including the propagation of the nervous impulse. In physics, nonlinear behavior often originates from phase transitions. Evidence for such transitions on the single-cell level, however, has so far not been provided, leaving the field unattended by the biological community. Here, we demonstrate that single cells of a human neuronal cell line display all optical features of a sharp, highly nonlinear phase transition within their membrane. The transition is reversible and does not originate from protein denaturation. Triggered by temperature and modified by pH here, a thermodynamic approach strongly suggests that similar nonlinear state changes can be induced by other variables such as calcium or mechanical stress. At least in lipid membranes, such state changes are accompanied by significant changes in permeability, enzyme activity, elastic, and electrical properties. National Academy of Sciences 2022-02-14 2022-02-22 /pmc/articles/PMC8872731/ /pubmed/35165183 http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117521119 Text en Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Physical Sciences
Fedosejevs, Carina S.
Schneider, Matthias F.
Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
title Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
title_full Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
title_fullStr Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
title_full_unstemmed Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
title_short Sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
title_sort sharp, localized phase transitions in single neuronal cells
topic Physical Sciences
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8872731/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35165183
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117521119
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